Bound By Light: The Light Lives On
by TruthOutrunsTheFiction
Summary: Much time has passed since our heroes left the world of dreams. Master Yen Sid has decided it is high time Rachel and Bryan meet the other key bearers. Good times are sure to come as the sibling heroes travel to the Destiny Islands! Act 3 of 3. Comments appreciated
1. Preface

Hello again everyone!

As I said in the appendix of Act II, this act takes a different direction from the last two. It is also several years in the future from when Act II ended. Figured I'd best explain the time period I chose.

Now I know there are plenty of videos and websites "explaining" the Kingdom Hearts timeline. I haven't looked at any of them because I don't need technicalities throwing a wrench into **my** reasoning of the timeline.

As we all know, game-time works very differently than if you were to put the game-time into the way time makes sense in a story adventure. For example, the game Psychonauts can take up wonderfully spent hours and days of your life BUT, the story in the game puts Raz, the main character arriving at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp in the morning, and has until the next morning before his father comes to pick him up. In that time you learn psychic skills, go on a camp-wide scavenger hunt, uncover a secret plot, your campmates are kidnapped and have their brains stolen, you fight the Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata, cross the lake to the abandoned Insane Asylum, help the inmates with their mental problems, climb the tower and much, much more, all technically over _**a day and night**_.

I think Kingdom Hearts goes the same way. You can't think of it as a game where if you spend many days playing you can get from beginning to end in a relatively short time. But if you were to write it as a story, you need to add A LOT more time. After all, it just isn't realistic to think Sora, a gold-hearted, naïve teenage boy, barely able to beat his best friend when playing with wooden swords can go to defeating the prince of darkness in a week. Adventures, quests…they all take a long time to make the events worth it for both action and personal growth. So here are my thoughts,

From the time the destiny islands lost their heart to closing the door to light: unknown time.

from closing the door to light to Castle Oblivion: unknown time

ascending the floors of Castle Oblivion: unknown time

rechaining memories: one year

waking up to defeating Xemnas: unknown time

from return to island to Rachel and Bryan's visit: a few weeks

So I just decided to round it off at about 3-ish years from when KH1 ends to when Act III begins for the sake of the flow for my story. I have also decided to ignore the existence of KH: Recoded completely.

You can disagree, that's fine but keep it to yourself. Do not correct me, because that's rude. This is all based on **my** reasoning and the fact there is A LOT of room for interpretation for just how long the events through the entire KH series took. As far as I'm concerned nobody is 'wrong', which puts me in the same boat and as a fanfiction author I squeeze things in wherever I believe there is a place to put them. So basically what I'm beating around the bush to say, don't comment or correct me on my reasoning, just go with it and enjoy the story.

And a special treat! Below is the lineup for how Bound By Light fits in with the other KH games.

 _Kingdom Hearts 1/Bound By Light and Bound By Light: The Sleeping Worlds_

 _Kingdom Hearts 2_

 _Bound By Light: The Light Lives On_

 _Bound By Light: Bonus Adventure (working title)_

 _Bound By Light: Christmas Special_

 _Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance_

 _Bound By Light: Shenanigans_

As you can see there are many works in progress. I'm confident with your continued support I will not lose the inspiration and drive to finish all the wonders I've got in my head and want to share so badly. So please, favorite the story, follow the story and _for the love of all things good_ _ **, comment on the story**_! So long as you're not rude I love to hear what you guys think. Your reminders that I'm doing a good thing are what keeps the fire going. Please help me keep it burning.

Alright gang, here we go.


	2. The Next Adventure

**_..._**

* * *

 ** _~Three Years Later~_**

* * *

"Yaaaaa-hoooooooo!"

"Whooaaaaahahaha!"

Whoops and hollers of delight echoed across the space between spaces. Some time ago Master Yen Sid had showed Rachel and Bryan how to use their Keyblades to create pathways to other worlds. Normally a Keyblade would become a Glider, allowing the individual wielder to travel between worlds even when the pathways were closed. Rachel and Bryan however took a different approach. One of them would activate their Keyblade and it would become the figurehead at the bow of their ship. It didn't take on a shape like a maiden or anything but attached all the same, parting the spaces to other worlds. Now _that_ was a way to travel. Some days, they would sail from one end of the cosmos to the other for no other reason than because it was such a wild ride. One hanging on for dear life at the bow, the other digging their heels in at the helm. It was highly doubtful their Keyblade would allow them to ever fall off, but human instinct demands one fuses oneself to the nearest sturdy object when going that fast.

It had been years since they had met Jim Hawkins on Treasure Planet and took the old pirate ship Hermes repaired as their own. That little bit of Olympus magic made it look like it had just come off the construction docks and it had sailed like a dream ever since. Jim's time flowed closely to their own. They'd gone back to see him several times. He and Bryan had become close friends. To Bryan, Montressor was his get-away place. Whenever he got tired of being around the tower or had a break from training, that was usually where he'd go. If Jim wasn't around to visit with, B.E.N was always delighted to see him. He was around often enough and offered to help out so much, Jim's mom insisted he call her Aunt Sarah. The last time they'd visited, Jim had just begun his second year at the Interstellar Academy and his mother's Inn was the most popular establishment on Montressor. That certainly left for lots of things to talk about.

It was strange going to familiar worlds over an extended period of time. Jim aged about the same as they did. Going back to the Big Top was a very different story. It was only a little over a year since Dumbo believed in himself and took flight. Again, it was one of those strange instances where being told that the flow of time in every world differs then actually seeing it firsthand. The little guy toured all over as the world's first and only flying elephant but really wasn't that much older. Whenever they went back to visit, the Ringmaster was always delighted to see them as much as Dumbo. Without fail he would break down into a happy blubbering mess when they agreed to perform some magic for his show.

The time in The Great Forest however flowed a hair faster. Bambi had grown up into a fine young stag with a growing set of antlers. In fact, Bambi and friends had all found mates and had families. Bambi and Falene were expecting their first fawn that spring. If they wanted to see the new baby before it too was all grown up, their next visit would have to come sooner than later.

Neverland was of course, Neverland. Time didn't flow there at all. Wendy and her brothers had long since gone back to their home. The Lost Boys continued having adventures and Captain Hook and his crew hadn't been seen in a long time. The Lost Boys loved it when they came to play and they always had the respect of the Indians. Mermaid Lagoon, of course, they avoided when at all possible. Pixie Hollow was always a thrill. The fairies were always great friends. All the pixies knew about them so their hands were always a little sore from all the waving hello. And they were getting better acquainted with new fairy friends of Tink. As a magic fanatic Rachel was very interested in learning more about the powers of Pixie Dust from a dustkeeper fairy called Zarina. They were even privileged to be present when a fairy was born.

As promised Hermes had taken them to visit his home on Mount Olympus. Only gods could live on Mount Olympus but the rules were a bit fuzzy on the subject of guests and friends. As friends of Hermes and heroes of the worlds, they were treated like honored guests. The gods of Olympus had taken quite a shine to them and they were welcome back to visit anytime.

True to his word, Master Yen Sid taught the siblings in the disciplines of their choosing. Bryan's skill with a blade and increased immensely. Many secret powers of his different Keyblades had been discovered. Especially the Bass Blade, his first and by far his favorite. Over the years and countless battles it was as if that Keyblade had a hook in his heart and the music contained in the both of them acted as a bridge to incredible power. Between the melody in his heart and mind, and the power of the Bass Blade, Bryan was without question the master of music. (And, come to find out, the whiskers Rachel pointed out to him the day they chose their new disciplines weren't just pesky chin hairs. From then to the present, Bryan had grown out a full mustache/goatee combo)

Rachel too had gotten her wish. Her magic had grown immeasurably. Yen Sid had taught her to channel her power and control it with ease. There were still many spells to learn and secrets to uncover but most magic she tried obeyed her without hesitation. She was well on her way to becoming a true sorceress. Rachel had also discovered a magnificent talent buried within one of her Keyblades. Oddly, it was not Moonlit Majesty. Rachel also had a special place for music in her heart, though, perhaps not so much music itself, but song. Ocean Song proved to have a very special talent. When she sung into the jeweled star, it captured the words, power and emotion, sent them down the lines of music along the shaft then expelled the energy outward to be used as a weapon. What was sung determined the power.

And of course, excelling in their chosen discipline helped the other to grow. Rachel couldn't expect to win a sparring match against her brother unless she improved. At the same time Bryan had no choice to learn more about magic and improve his own with all the things his sister was learning.

But the greatest thing to have happened since Rachel and Bryan's adventure into the sleeping worlds had to be the earning of the title of Master. It had taken a little over a year and a half of constant training before Master Yen Sid allowed them to take the Mark of Mastery Exam. Obviously they had both passed. It was shortly thereafter they were taught how to use their Keyblade to create pathways. Before this new talent, their journeys to other worlds had been kept to a minimum. That had been the hardest. All sorts of marvelous worlds existed outside The Mysterious Tower and were filled to the gills with so many wonderful friends who they couldn't see as often as they would have liked.

The doors had opened again about a year ago allowing easy passage because something had shifted the balance of Light and Darkness once again. They had been able to see and defend their friends once more as well as see new worlds. They had even been able to find the worlds they had traveled to in dreams. That had been a strange and wonderful time. Darkwing, Baloo, Robin, Anna and Elsa. It had been wonderful to see them again but at the same time they got to know them all over again. All of their friends had a similar déjà vu feeling upon meeting them even though they didn't know why. Even more interesting at times was to learn how the story actually ended, not just the dream-version they saw.

Much like Bryan frequented Montressor, Rachel often made solo visits to Arendelle. She, Elsa and Anna had become quite the trio of gal pals when Elsa wasn't busy with her royal responsibilities. Rachel and Anna often played like children around the castle, sliding down banisters or 'skating' across the polished stone floors in their socks. Even as queen, Elsa wasn't above such whimsy and would sometimes join them. There were plenty of school-girl sleepovers, brushing each other's hair and laughing and the like. To Rachel, they were the sisters she never had.

They also got the Keyblades they'd acquired in dream worlds back one way or another from the new events they were apart of in the real worlds. The only place they couldn't find was Happy Valley or the Troubled Kingdom for some reason. Same with some of the worlds of Fantasia. They couldn't find all those places either. Then again, they never knew just how many factions of that world existed or just how large each one was. Perhaps it was just a matter of not looking in the right place. But as a result, much to her great despair, Rachel never got Renewal back.

But that couldn't last forever either. It was just before the doors closed again they had passed the Mark of Mastery.

The only place they could visit frequently with ease was a place called Traverse Town. It was like a refuge world, a place between places and a haven for the people that had no home. Or in this case, the things that had no home. It was the only place where their Dream Eaters could exist outside of a sleeping world. Rachel spent the most time of the two of them in Traverse Town with her Spirits. Their favorite past time in Traverse Town was racing each other on their Spirits through all five districts and back alleys. They'd pick a starting point and destination and there were no rules as to how they got there. Their second favorite game was also a race. However this time Rachel and Bryan were flying alongside Jewel and White or Fantasia, racing against the Spirits and each other.

While they didn't need it much anymore (frequent use and long-term exposure had taken its toll), it was actually on a Pixie Dust refill when Rachel got an idea.

That special Blue Pixie Dust had once turned them fairy-sized. Even though it had only been applied once and great spans of time could pass before they visited Pixie Hollow again, the magic was still potent. Perhaps that special dust had other powers as well. Even skilled dustkeeper fairies didn't know the extent of its power and abilities. Queen Clarion had granted them a pouch of the Blue Dust, but that really was all they could spare. Additional dust might be spared in the future but it would another year before the Blue Moon shone in Pixie Hollow that made the special dust. Oh well, a carrot like that was more than worth waiting for. Especially because of what it could do.

Much to their great surprise and delight, Rachel and Bryan discovered that when blessed with Blue Pixie dust, a Spirit could enter the tangible world. This great blessing was conditional, however. It took the entire pouch of dust to give this gift to only two Spirits. Still, it had been worth it for Rachel to gallop hard across the seasons of Neverland on Fantasia or Bryan going to sleep at night with Seger curled up in a warm, heavy ball at his feet. Bryan had the toughest time choosing which of his Spirits to make tangible first. White, his first Dream Eater or Seger, the dog he'd always wanted. He ended up having Rachel flip a coin to choose. One day they would take White, Jewel and RolliPolli out of Traverse Town and into the real worlds as well.

One day.


	3. Arriving in Destiny

The world was in view at last. This was going to be their most exciting trip yet. Master Yen Sid had told them it was high time they met other Keyblade wielders. It had been most unfortunate they had not met at least one of them before as he had made semi-frequent stops to the Mysterious tower…when they weren't at home. It was like taking to the extreme the feeling of looking for a pencil only to find it was behind your ear the whole time.

Bryan turned the ship downward to find a place to land. Only there really wasn't such a place. All he could see for a long while was water. No, there was land up ahead. Not land, an island. Either an island or this world was _reeeeealy_ small. He hovered King a little more than a half mile away from the island when they got close. The King might be a ship but it wasn't designed for water.

"Drop anchor!" Bryan called.

"Aye Captain!" Rachel removed her Keyblade from the bowhead. With one hard tap the chains unwound from their base and the anchor crashed into the depths below. Well, not really depths. They only lost about twenty feet of chain before the anchor hit bottom.

"Well," Rachel said, standing on the rail looking down. She'd been watching the anchor disappear and the heavy chain clack and groan as it gave way. "That was a little…anti-climactic."

Bryan chuckled quietly. He stood by the rail facing the island. It really was a beautiful place. The sky was clear. The sun shone bright but not instant-sunburn hot. The water sparkled with the most amazing blue he'd ever seen. The island itself looked like a giant emerald in a sea of baby-blue sapphire and diamonds.

" _This_ is where the other key bearers live?" Rachel shielded her eyes from the sun. "This is beautiful! Wouldn't it be cool to live on an island? Between the location and our ship, this would be such an awesome place to play pirates." Rachel said. "Want to sometime?"

"No."

" _Pleeeeeeeease_?"

"No."

Surprisingly Rachel didn't continue. He knew that she knew he didn't play games like that but still entertained herself by asking anyway. They had a few years before either of them would be twenty but Rachel especially always made time to be a child. She did make a motion of preparing to jump off the rail like one would a diving board. Bryan smirked. That he would do. He stood on the rail a few feet away from his sister.

"Count of three?"

"One,"

"Two,"

"Three!"

Together they jumped forward, summersaulted in the air and once they straightened out again raced each other to the island only feet above the crystal waves. It was rather a pointless race, really. They flew like that often but half the time with no destination in mind at all so there was no way of knowing who won. The closer the Masters got to the island the higher they flew. They wanted to get a full and proper view of the island before they descended.

Bryan saw Rachel take a long, deep breath through the nose. When asked, she answered the air was fragrant, crisp and clean. Of course, he had to take her word for it. That island wasn't that big. It took less than twenty minutes flying at a medium speed to circle the entire thing. Not exactly a place he'd expect to find a lot of people living, but it certainly would make for a great summer getaway location.

After getting the lay of the land Bryan and Rachel flew above the island and hovered. It was fun to just float sometimes. They hadn't seen anyone on their first pass. The island below was beautiful. Lush trees towered high of the most amazing green with colorful flowers all over. Pale beaches shone brightly in the sunlight. But still there weren't many signs they saw the first time that indicated people lived there. Maybe they got the wrong place. They could see the lumpy forms of at least one neighboring island in the distance. But that wonderment was soon cast away when a large something came flying toward them.


	4. The First Day

Meanwhile

Three friends crouched along a dimly lit stone tunnel. At the other end a small cave opened up to a world of childhood memories. Roots from the trees above wove around the stones. The marks of a child's hands were present on every rock as high as a child could reach. Images of other worlds, monsters, houses and stars had been scribbled over nearly every inch of the rocks. Although many of these drawings were many years old, they looked as though they had been etched only moments before.

"It won't be too long before we won't be able to go inside the Secret Place anymore," Said a young man with spiky hair. He led the little group out of the tunnel.

"Yeah," A girl in a pink dress behind him agreed. "We'd better make the most of these old memories while we can."

"Do kids even come here anymore?" The second young man asked. "I mean, I haven't se-Ow!"

The tallest had just proven his friends point perfectly by running into a ceiling stone with his forehead.

"You ok, Riku?"

"No, Kairi. Countless battles against savage Heartless, Nobodies and Organization Thirteen couldn't have prepared me for a bump on the head from a low ceiling. The agony is unbearable."

Kairi took the sarcasm in stride and laughed, as did leader of the line, Sora.

The three friends stood outside the entrance of the Secret Place for a while. The waves quietly sang their eternal song. The gentle island breeze through the trees joined in and the babbling of the waterfall next to them created the perfect symphony. Looking over this haven with its lush vegetation, fine white sands, crystal clear waters and atmosphere of peace, they wondered how they could have ever wanted to leave. Even though they had had wonderful adventures in other worlds and had done great things for so many great friends, it would be a lie to say their minds didn't drift back to their peaceful island from time to time.

A few weeks had passed in blissful calm after the Organization had fallen. Riku's injuries had healed completely. Heartless had once again retreated to the shadows. The gates to the worlds had closed again. Donald, Goofy and the King had gone back to Disney Castle. Sora for one, hadn't felt the least bit sad. If there was one thing he'd learned throughout h many journeys, there was never such thing as a true goodbye. Only, 'c'ya 'til next time!'. Besides, what force in any of the countless worlds had the power to keep such an odd trio of heroes apart?

Suddenly, amidst their musings something big in the sky sped past them.

"What was that?" Kairi gasped.

"Were those…people?" Riku asked, not sure how that could be possible.

"Let's go check it out!" Sora led the way through the wooden shack to the stairs that went to the Bridge.

Riku and Kairi stood in the middle of the bridge and were able to catch a quick glimpse of the figures before they disappeared behind the trees. Sora had climbed a coconut tree and stood at the top, hoping to get a better look.

"See anything?" Kairi called up to him.

"Those were people, all right." Sora shielded his eyes with his hands to make sure the bright sun didn't interfere with what he was seeing. "And they're flying! I mean _really flying_! Like on Captain Hook's pirate ship!"

"But that doesn't make any sense." Riku said. "Even you can only Glide at the best of times and that kind of ability doesn't exist on Des-"

"I see them!" Sora exclaimed the second the strangers came into view.

"Where are they?" Kairi asked. "What are they doing?"

"They've stopped." Sora answered. "They're not moving, just… sort've floating above the island. I could be wrong, but from what I can see I think it's a boy and a girl. "

"I don't get it." Riku said. "They've got to be from another world but, I thought all the gates had closed. How did they get here?"

"Well, why don't we ask them?" Sora said. "Be right back."

"What are you planning?"

But Sora already had his Keyblade in hand. With a Hi Jump he leapt into the air and caught himself with Glide. Then, summoning a gust of Wind created an updraft that carried him high into the sky. Steering was a little tricky. He hadn't really given this plan much thought and he'd never tried anything like that before. Thankfully the strangers had seen him coming and met him half way. It was incredible. They really weren't Gliding. They were flying just as freely as Peter Pan. Sora said a cheerful "hello" which they returned. So far they seemed pleasant enough. They looked him over, at each other, then back to him.

"Are we wrong to assume that you're Sora?" The girl asked.

"Nope! That's me! How did you know who I wa-whoaoa!" Sora's balance on the wind had faltered. He corrected it but still had the problem that Gliding was a slow, steady descent over a great height or distance. It wasn't real flying. "Could we talk on the ground?"

The boy laughed. "Yeeeah. You look like you're about to fall from the sky."

Honest and not spoken with malice. Again, they appeared to be good people. Sora Glided back down to the Bridge and the strangers followed. Sora let himself drop the last six or so feet. The new boy did the same. The girl remained floating at the side of the bridge but had lowered herself to be at eye-level with everyone.

"That is amazing." Kairi said, watching the new girl float. The occasional gold sparkle would glitter around her.

"That is so cool!" Sora agreed. "Who are you guys? How did you get here? And how can you do that?"

"I'm Bryan," Said the boy. "And that's my sister, Rachel."

Rachel made an elegant mid-air bow.

"You already guessed who I am. These are my best friends, Riku and Kairi." Sora introduced.

"They already knew who you were?" Riku asked.

"Well, guessed." Bryan answered. "We were told this is where we could find him."

"By whom?" Riku asked skeptically.

"Master Yen Sid sent us here saying this is where we could find the other Keyblade wielders." Rachel answered.

"You know Master Yen Sid?!" Sora exclaimed. This was getting better by the minute. "How is-"

"Wait a minute," Kairi cut him off. " _ **Other**_ Keyblade wielders? Then does that mean? You both?"

Rachel and Bryan grinned a you-better-believe-it grin and their Keyblades appeared in their hands. The three friends jumped back a little, startled. Kairi looked adoringly at the glistening jewels of Rachel's Moonlit Majesty. Sora looked about as excited as a puppy who knew it was time to go outside to play. He held out his hand and called the Kingdom Key. He looked at Riku to do the same. Seconds later SoulEater appeared. Kairi hadn't been able to call forth a Keyblade since the battle in the World That Never Was.

"This is amazing!" Sora said.

"But how is this possible?" Riku said. "Where have you been that we've never seen you before? How do we not know about you?"

"Riku, relax." Kairi said with a smile as she gently punched him in the arm. "This is an exciting time! I'm sure they have questions for us too."

"Master Yen Sid told us about you." Bryan said. "Not in great detail but that you were Keyblade wielders and had defeated great forces of darkness more than once."

"The rest I think he left out for when we met you in person." Rachel added. She finally landed on the bridge.

"Ok, first question. How can you two fly? I could fly freely on Captain Hook's pirate ship because of a pixie named Tinker Bell's magic a few years ago but never anywhere else."

"We saved the Pixie Dust tree back in Pixie Hollow on our first adventure and as a thank you the fairy queen, Queen Clarion gave us a share of the pixie dust that lets us fly." Bryan gently patted a small pouch on his belt as he spoke.

"I remember Tinker Bell mentioning you!" Rachel said happily. "She said she granted you the magic to summon her when you needed help."

"Yeah," Sora said, fondly remembering. "She saved my neck in a few tough fights with her magic. You must also know Peter Pan to know what Tinker Bell said."

"We know Peter," Bryan said. "But it wasn't because of him we knew about Tink's adventures."

"But…how do you know what Tinker Bell said without Peter telling you?"

"Beeecause she told us herself." Rachel said.

"But I thought only Peter could understand her." Sora said, a confused look spreading across his face.

"Normally we couldn't either," Rachel explained. "Until she shrunk us to fairy-size with special dust."

"That's possible?!" Sora exclaimed. "How did-"

"How 'bout we go somewhere a bit more comfortable since this is obviously going to take a while. And we might have to change the topic so these two don't feel so excluded." Bryan cut it.

"Why don't we just go down to the beach?" Kairi suggested. "It will be more comfortable to sit in the sand than stand here."

Riku made a noise and nod of agreement. The three boys jumped down from the bridge to the beach below. Kairi understandably didn't want to jump, especially in a skirt. Just as she was going to take the long way down, Rachel took her by the hand and told her to jump. When they did, Rachel gracefully flew them down.

They talked for hours about their adventures. Questions were answered. Clarifications and explanations were made on both sides. Everyone had a chance to share their story. From when Rachel and Bryan were invited by a blue man to learn about their new weapons and to when the Destiny Islands lost its heart and began Sora, Riku and Kairi's adventure. Battles with Heartless. Nobodies. Organization Thirteen. It was quite a surprise to hear Rachel and Bryan had been confronted by a figure in a black coat a few times.

Eventually the sky blazed deep crimson and all the stories hadn't been touched on yet. Throats were parched yet no one wanted to leave. There was so much more to be said. But the appearance of thousands of stars said it was time to call it quits for the night.

"Do you two have a place to stay tonight?" Riku asked.

"You could come back to the main island and stay with one of us." Kairi offered.

"Thanks but we've got our own place." Bryan said.

"Really?" Sora asked. "Where?"

"On King." Rachel said.

Bryan pointed off on the horizon.

"King?" Riku said. "What's 'king?'"

"The name of our ship." Rachel answered. "The Sky King. Or just the King. It's where we stay when off-world."

"See you tomorrow?" Bryan asked.

"Absolutely!" Sora said. "We'll all meet right back here tomorrow morning."

They said good night to Bryan and Rachel and headed back to their boats. Sora turned just in time to see the siblings flying over the water back to their ship. Perhaps tomorrow they could see what a space ship that wasn't a gummi ship looked like. It truly had been an exciting day. Two other Keyblade wielders had been buzzing around the worlds the way he had and he never knew it. For a time Sora had wondered if he was the only one. Like maybe only one Keyblade wielder could exist at a time. Riku was supposed to be the Keyblades master but now had SoulEater.

"Soooooo, Riku." Kairi said with a sly smile. She rode in the same boat as Sora, only two oars lengths away from Riku's small boat. "What did you think of Rachel?"

"She seems really nice. Why?"

"Did you see the way she was looking at you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kairi giggled. "I think she thinks you're cute."

" _Excuse me?"_ Riku stopped rowing. "What makes you think that?"

Kairi giggled harder. "Well, for one thing, have you looked at yourself lately? Second, you both forget, I was here leading a quote 'normal' life while you two were away getting into trouble. I did learn a thing or two about the unspoken language between boys and girls. And let me tell you, she was eyeing you with some interest and I think _you_ think she's a little more than just 'ok'."

Riku cast a pleading 'help me' glance at Sora but seeing his friends stupid grin knew he wasn't getting any.

"Is it just the last red rays of the sunset or is he blushing?" Sora asked Kairi in an I-want-him-to-hear-every-word-but-I'll-talk-as-if-it's-supposed-to-be-a-big-secret sort of way.

"I do not blush!" Riku snapped defensively.

Sora did an annoying, whatever-you-got-to- tell-yourself shrug.

Surely for Riku this was going to be a very long row back to shore.

* * *

The first thing Rachel and Bryan did when they got back to their ship was march straight to the galley, formed a huge ice chunk in a large pot, melted it with Fire then cooled it again with Blizzard and got very large ladles and started drinking like a dehydrated camel.

"I have never been so grateful for water in my life." Rachel gasped after taking a ridiculously large gulp.

Bryan didn't need to agree. His loud gulps spoke for themselves. "And I've never been so glad to meet someone new before." He said when he could finally breathe. "We've only known them for a few hours and they're great."

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed the second my throat stops feeling like the fields of Happy Valley, pre-harp rescue." Rachel said between sips. "That way tomorrow gets here faster."

Bryan nodded his agreement. It was a thrill to make a friend with the knowledge they could see them more often than whenever the worlds were in danger.

They each filled their ladles again but drank with much less fervor than before.

"Those two were pretty cute." Rachel said with a smile in her voice. "Especially the tall one. I mean, really, did you _see_ that mane?"

"I really wasn't looking." Bryan answered. "What is with you and guys hair anyway?"

"The right hair style can make an ok looking guy look great and a handsome one look gorgeous."

"It's a wonder you could even see his face. He's got just about as much hair as you do."

"So you did notice."

"Only long enough to wonder how he can see. And if you're finished, both drinking and talking let's go to bed."

"A novel idea." Rachel took one last swig and followed Bryan.

They went to their respective cabins and got comfortable for the night. But both of them were too excited to go immediately to sleep.


	5. Day 2: Morning

Riku had hoped to get to the boats before Sora and Kairi to beat them to the island. Somehow he suspected Kairi would have more to add to her comment last night. He'd only known the girl for a few hours and everyone had been talking about past exploits. That didn't leave a lot of time to get a feel for someone's character. Especially when he wasn't really looking for it. But he didn't want Kairi or Sora reading into something that wasn't there. Saving the worlds from darkness may not have left much time for a personal life. But at the same time, Friendship 101 states that the harder you deny something, even when being perfectly honest, friends will accept the denial as admittance.

Unfortunately Sora and Kairi had the same thoughts about arriving early. They were too excited about meeting their new friends to make further mention of anything else. At least for now. Then again, perhaps leaving without them would have looked bad. That would have surely led to one of them asking why he hadn't waited. Probably Kairi. Then Sora would probably say something to the effect of how he wanted to avoid them so they might forget to mention his suspected crush. Either direction had a decent probability of getting teased. Which, oddly enough, wasn't happening like he had expected. Better act as normal as possible as not to encourage anything but not try too hard otherwise they'd notice.

The row to Destiny Island was pretty quiet but charged with excited energy. Kairi couldn't stop bouncing in her seat from trying to contain her delight. She'd brought an insulated box with her. Riku didn't ask what was in it but suspected she'd asked Sora to freeze it by the way it glistened with frost.

The trio could hear voices not too far away from the docks. Not really voices, but… sounds of battle? Riku and Sora rowed quickly and jumped on the dock to assess the situation. Thankfully it was nothing to worry about. Rachel and Bryan had arrived first and they were sparring in the sand. The first thing that went through Riku's mind was the wonder of just _how_ early did they get up to be there first. Then again, they could probably fly really fast so getting there early would have nothing to do with getting their first.

The second thing was a sense of shock at just how intense the sparring was. The moves were quick and the blows hard. Keyblades clashed so hard sparks flew upon impact. Attack. Dodge. Defend. Jump. They meant business. In fact, to Riku, it looked as though they might actually be _trying_ to hurt each other. He grew up an only child but he refused to believe this was how siblings settled disagreements.

"Should we stop them?" Kairi asked. She must have been thinking along the same lines.

"Or join in," Sora said. "It would be like how we used to spar with Tidus, Wakka and Selphie."

"Maybe they don't want-" Riku began. But Sora had already summoned his Keyblade and jumped off the dock.

Sora charged in, entering the fray with a mighty swing. Bryan saw him and was able to deflect the attack but barely, he had just returned a blow from his sister by the time Sora stepped in. Bryan looked surprised. Had they really been so focused on their fight they hadn't seen the boats coming or the three of them standing on the dock? Bryan didn't give any indication he wanted Sora to stay out of it. On the contrary, he swung back. Rachel didn't seem to have any objections either and it became a three-way fight.

"Why don't you join them, Riku?" Kairi said. "They've already accepted Sora. It might be a fun challenge."

 _Might as well._ Riku thought. He called forth Way to the Dawn and leapt off the dock.

Then things got interesting.

It was a regular do-si-do of who fought with whom. It wasn't at all like fighting with Tidus or the others. Bryan exchanged blows with Sora. Then as Sora deflected a swing from Rachel, Bryan turned to Riku. Everyone crossed blades with everyone, sometimes at the same time. Eventually they paired off. Sora with Bryan and Riku with Rachel. Kairi watched the whole event from her place on the dock.

When they broke off into pairs, Riku was at first interested to see if Rachel would ease up on him or if he would have to go easy on her (completely oblivious to her true strength). If Kairi was right and Rachel might have a budding thing for him, would she try not to hurt him? But what he saw was the exact opposite. And a bit shocking.

She had an icy luster in her otherwise warm brown eyes. Rachel didn't take battle lightly. Even when practicing with a friend. Somehow, within that stare Riku could see he would have to treat this fight like battling Ansem or Xemnas. The blows would be real and would fall just short of serious injury.

Strangely though, despite seeing this in her eyes, she never landed a serious blow. But it didn't take long to figure out why. Her reaction time wasn't as good as his but she could still block or deflect the majority of his strikes with relative ease. As the fight continued, Riku began to piece together why she was still doing better than him. It was like playing chess to her. She made her move while keeping an eye out for possible countermoves then acted accordingly. The only hiccup being if she could react in time. It didn't matter that he was faster than her; she already had a counterattack or two planned in her mind. That should be the way anyone enters battle but it surprised Riku she was doing it so well. He could practically hear her gears turning as she assessed the situation as it changed. Not perfectly by any means, he could see in her face when he retaliated in a way she wasn't expecting. Even then, the corrected immediately and continued. They did seem pretty evenly matched. Both were well-versed in the art of combat. Riku clearly had the upper-body strength advantage but Rachel could move with the fluidity of a cat.

But that wasn't what bothered him. Blows were landed on both of them. That was to be expected. You couldn't fight like this without receiving a few physical strikes. But once and a while Riku could feel Rachel's Keyblade touch him…gently. Barely a tap. Just a butterfly kiss. At first he didn't know what it was. After all, seconds before they were clashing their weapons so hard sparks flew across the sand. Then he would feel a soft bump on his side, the back of his leg, his stomach, or the back of his neck. There were times he didn't even see the blade before it touched him.

Then Riku understood. And he didn't like it. Rachel was counting coup. She was letting him know each time she found a spot she could have really hurt him. And he found it increasingly aggravating. Even to the point where he began to lose his composure. Was it because it was like losing? Was it because Rachel was a girl? Riku wasn't sure why he was thinking that. Her being a girl shouldn't have been a factor. He wasn't sexist or anything and he had seen before that girls could fight just as well as guys. Still, he had single-handedly taken down seasoned warriors aided with the powers of pure darkness and walked away with only fatigue. Now he was getting his butt handed to him on his home playing field by a girl barely a year older than him whom he hadn't even known for a full twenty-four hours yet.

Suddenly a great gust of Wind knocked him off his feet. Riku sat up quickly but saw the same had happened to Rachel. Sora and Bryan had stopped dueling and had literally just swept them off their feet.

"That was intense," Bryan said.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "We stopped our match to watch you two. It was a little scary." But he said it with a smile.

Riku was annoyed that they had stepped in. With just a bit more time he would have gotten a better feel for her fighting style and would have been able to turn the tables. No, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, Rachel had had the upper hand the whole time. That wouldn't have changed. Was it pride that made him feel this way right then? On some level did he really think he was so good no one could beat him? Maybe it was just the fact he had been a few hits away from getting completely owned by a girl. Why did he find losing so annoying! It wasn't like he'd _never_ lost to anyone before.

And she was _smiling_! Not a snarky, 'I won! I won! I won!' smile but she looked happy, a little out of breath, but _happy_. Happy like she'd just won a nice calm game of checkers (a trait that reminded him of Sora). Riku was astounded (and hoped it didn't show). He was sure she could have imbedded him into the beach if she'd wanted to but looked like she was just about to shake his hand and say something like, 'Good game, I had fun' and go about her day like nothing had happened. Somehow Riku felt like he'd feel better if Rachel wasn't such a gracious winner.

"So, what was with the tapping?" Sora asked Bryan.

For a moment Riku thought Sora was talking to Rachel, like he had seen what she'd been doing.

"It's something Master Yen Sid got us doin'." Bryan answered. "It's an exercise to build quick-thinking, get a better eye for weaknesses and develop self-control."

"How does that work?" Kairi had come off the dock where she had been sitting and watching. She put down her cooler in the sand. She had seen Bryan and Rachel do the same thing no matter who they were fighting and wondered why the other person barely reacted after contact had been made.

"Forces us to do multiple things at once, for one." Bryan continued. "Being able to assess several aspects of a fight at the same time keeps us on our toes. The tap lets us know where we've left a weak spot open. We're both supposed to keep count of how many times we were tapped and where. Say if she's always hitting me in the same spot then I know that's where I need to focus more attention. At the same time it forces us to not just take the hit when we see the opportunity. Hence the self-control."

"If not we probably would have broken each other's necks a long time ago." Rachel added.

"That makes a lot of sense." Kairi said, nodding.

"But why were you fighting so hard? Did you have an argument? That was really intense for sparring practice." Sora asked.

"It was one of the first things Master Yen Sid taught us." Rachel said. "Even before we learned how to use magic. He wanted us to learn early to fight against each other without holding anything back. His philosophy was if we could go all out against family without hesitation; imagine how brutal we could be against an actually enemy."

"Besides, it's a really good way to get the blood flowing in the morning." Bryan said.

Satisfied with the answer Sora and Kairi got comfortable on the beach. Rachel and Bryan joined them. Astounded that everyone could act as though the majority of the group hadn't just been trying to pummel each other only a minute earlier, Riku sat down too. Kairi opened her cooler and passed out ice water to everyone. They talked for most of the morning. As the sun climbed higher the group went to another side of the island that had more shade. This area had a lot of large and tall rocks that formed tide pools in the shallows. But right at the edge of the tallest cluster or rocks the water depth dropped quickly. It was not a bad place to jump in so long as you didn't do a nose dive. It wasn't _that_ deep.

When the time came, Kairi had also packed a few sandwiches for lunch. A while after eating, Sora got that glow whenever he had a good idea. He took off his jacket, shoes and socks and took off to the rocks.

"C'mon guys!" Sora waved to them. "Let's go swimming!" He ran up the tallest rock and cannonballed in.

After it had been brought up, Riku realized just how much fun that sounded. He half-smiled and also took off his vest and shoes. Kairi did the same but waded in due to her skirt. She laughed and shielded herself from the spray of Riku's splash. Rachel and Bryan stood at the top of the tallest rock looking down. The water wasn't even seven feet deep. Riku could just touch the bottom with his nose above water if he stood on his toes. Sora did a clumsy backstroke.

"Come on in!" Sora said, splashing up at them.

Rachel and Bryan looked at each other. Riku watched closely. Was that a look of hesitation he saw? They could swim, right? But after a second of silent communication the two nodded to each other and jumped in.


	6. Day 2: Swimming

Rachel and Bryan had been hesitant to get in the water with their new friends. As they had discovered, mermaid magic did come with a few unexpected side-effects. Their long-term exposure to the magic shells had imprinted its power on them. Even without the shells on their person they would still transform if in water at least thigh deep (which got really sad for Rachel because she loved long soaks in a bathtub). The concentration required to counter the magic almost made the effort not worth it at all. Even more annoying was to find out the magic of the shells was so influential it could pass into the dream world. Even though it had been years ago, Bryan never forgot how annoyed he'd been that day in the jungle when a refreshing dip yielded the surprise of legs melting away when they shouldn't have.

They looked at each other. Might as well. Like the others Rachel and Bryan shed their outermost layer of clothing as well as their shoes. At the edge of the stone they jumped, mid-air summersaulting while doing so and landed with a great splash. When they came up again, no one immediately noticed anything had changed.

"Oh, these waters are perfect." Rachel said. "So warm and clear."

"We don't swim here as often as we should." Sora said, floating on his back. "Because you're right it-"

He was cut off by a sharp gasp from Kairi. Sora and Riku were on alert. They'd never seen anything dangerous in the waters of Destiny Island before but that didn't mean there wasn't any. Kairi was pointing below the water, going between Rachel and Bryan.

"I'm surprised no one noticed right away." Bryan said. No kidding. Not only were the waters clear enough a visual would have been easy but also Bryan had jumped in with clothes and when he came up his shirt was gone.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

Rachel rolled on her back and lifted her feathery blue fin from the water.

"Magic courtesy of the Neverland mermaids…whom I hope you never have to meet."

"You're a mermaid!" Kairi squealed with a bright smile. "That is amazing!" She swam over to get a better look.

"But how exactly did you do it?" Riku asked. "We didn't see anything."

"You wouldn't." Bryan answered. "The transformation takes place in milliseconds the moment we hit the water. We've even tried watching it as it happens but it's too quick to see the transition properly." Bryan took his enchanted shell off his belt. "This is what makes us change whenever we're in deep water. Rachel has one too."

"Do you think it will work on me?" Sora asked, hopeful.

He held out his shell. "Just hold it tight and the magic should take effect immediately."

Sora smiled a knowing smile. Hopefully it would work the way he was sure it would. He took the shell and held it tight. After a second or two he was covered by a veil of sparkly bubbles that vanished as quickly as it appeared. As usual, clothes and gear were gone and Sora's usual blue-gray dolphin tail was in the place of legs. His smile reached ear to ear and he laughed. He was in his Atlantica form but at home on Destiny Island!

"I can't believe it!" Sora exclaimed.

"Neither can I," Riku said. "I know you've told me about how your form needed to change on other worlds but, I've never actually seen you…with a tail."

Kairi was stunned speechless, but in a good way. Sora rolled back and hugged his tail. It was like meeting an old friend and he liked it. But would he have to keep holding the shell for the magic to last? The last thing he needed was to finally be able to explore the depths of Destiny Island's ocean, accidentally drop the shell and change back. Sora asked Bryan and Rachel about it but they weren't sure. Sora gave the shell back but nothing happened to his form. That was cool.

Understandably curious, Sora pulled himself up on the rocks just to see what would happen. As soon as he was three quarters out of the water everything was normal. Legs and clothes had returned…just a little wet, well, really wet. Sora was all smiles.

"This is so great!" This magic was truly extraordinary.

Sora cannonballed back in, not about to let one more second go by when he wasn't in the water having fun. Only when he surfaced again, he hadn't gone back to being a dolphin.

"Hey! What happened?"

"Here, try this again." Bryan offered Sora his shell.

Eagerly Sora accepted. Seconds after he held the shell tightly he slipped back in the water in a shower of bubbles as his legs disappeared again.

"How is that possible?" Kairi asked. She had an eagerness in her voice that outweighed her fascination.

"That is a really good question." Rachel said.

"We didn't even know they could do that." Bryan answered.

"So… as long as I'm in the water after touching the shell I stay this way. I only change back when I'm out of the water, then the magic wears off. Being in touch with the shell has no effect after the first contact."

"Sooooooo," Kairi said with a huge smile.

"You want to be a mermaid." Rachel said with an understanding grin.

"Yes!" She held out her hands and made gimme! gimme! pinchy crab claws motions with her hands.

Also smiling Rachel took her shell off her belt and gave it to Kairi. She accepted it like a child who knew she was getting the Christmas present they asked for. Kairi held the shell in both hands and closed her eyes as was proper if someone was about to toss a coin in a wishing well.

The shimmering wave of bubbles disappeared to reveal a bright pink tail, the same color as her dress. The shape was the same as the Neverland mermaids. Skin blended gently into fine scales with semi-transparent, almond-shaped fins. Her top acted much like Rachel's had, it stayed the same as her human clothes but cut off just below the ribcage. Kairi was too excited to even laugh with joy properly. But the spark of sunshine happiness in her eyes said all that needed to be said.

"Well, I can't say I was expecting to see my best friends with tails when I got up this morning." Riku said.

"Why don't you join us?" Sora said.

"That's ok, you guys have fun."

"No no no!" Kairi agreed. "We do everything together, right?"

"Right." Sora agreed with a mischievous smile widening. "How could we call ourselves your friends if we allowed you to be excluded from something so amazing?"

"No guys, really, I'm fine." Riku said, seeing what Sora was trying to do.

"Get 'im!" Kairi playfully cried.

"No! Wait! Hold on! Stop!"

But protests fell on deaf ears. Sora practically (actually, scratch the 'practically' Sora really had) dunked Riku to keep him from moving back as Kairi used both hands to wrap Riku's hand around the shell. Bryan and Rachel watched, un-interfering, with a great amount of amusement.

Bubbly veil. Transformation Status: Complete.

Riku slipped almost up to his eyes in water now that he couldn't stand on the sand, his arms flapping rapidly to tread water. Kairi swam similarly, not sure how to move but unlike Riku was not stunned speechless.

"C'mon people." Rachel said cheerfully. "Time for a swim lesson."

Rachel, Bryan and Sora dived immediately. Kairi clumsily followed. Riku came last, after carefully considering making a break for shore. Perhaps the strangest thing apart from getting used to a whole new balance system was they could all breathe underwater.

"Yaha!" Sora hollered. "Oh how I have missed this!"

"Little help!" Riku said shakily. Staying right end up was hard enough, how could he be expected to move? He looked himself over. Although Riku didn't know what an orca whale was that was the shape of his tail. Instead of being primarily black with white markings, the colors were reversed, the white being the same silver as his hair.

Sora wasn't listening. He was too busy doing backwards loopty-loops and singing something about being under the sea. Kairi stayed close to Rachel who was showing her how to swim. Riku did his best to join them and get in on the lesson.

While Rachel gave swimming lessons, Sora and Bryan compared their tails. The girls had scaly tails with feathery or wispy fins and the boys were all more like dolphins or small whales. Interesting. Sora and Bryan lay back on the sand with their fins held high. Bryan's tail was almost the same as Sora's only his fluke was wider. But he was a little older, maybe that had something to do with it. Bryan didn't have an underbelly color either. Also that blue probably wouldn't have been found in nature except on tropical birds.

"Wanna race?"

"Only if you're prepared to eat my bubbles."

They took off in a wide circle from where they'd begun. Eventually Riku and Kairi found the momentum required to swim smoothly. Kairi was all over the place. She loved this magic. When Sora and Bryan returned from their race, she joined them. The three of them did loops and spins around one another, laughing and enjoying the freedom of the open sea.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Rachel said, off-handedly.

"It certainly is unique magic." Riku answered, trying not to let her see he was still having a bit of balancing trouble. "Aren't you going to join them?"

"Why? They look like they're having fun."

Rachel swam about on her own. She twisted, turned and glided all over the place. Riku found it fascinating to watch. It was almost like she was water herself, not just in it. He tried to move about as she did. He certainly moved, but hardly with anything that resembled grace.

"I have to ask, how do you make it look so easy?" Obviously to an amateur any level of higher skill looked phenomenal. Still, she looked as if she'd been doing this her whole life. No, as if she had been born a mermaid and this was her true form. She had to do this a lot in order to make it look that easy.

"Lots of practice, of course. And a desire to become one with the water." She twisted around a bit more to show off her point. "Would you like to learn how to fight underwater?" Rachel asked after maneuvering around with the elegance of a ballerina. "Everyone else is off playing tag -correction. Bryan and Sora are attempting a high-five with their flukes."

"Their whats?"

"That's what the wide fin part of the tail of a dolphin or a whale is called. So, do you want to try sparring underwater?"

"I guess. It can't hurt to learn a new skill." Riku answered. He wondered why he agreed so casually. He had seen the way she fought just a few hours ago. Would she battle the same now?

He brought forth his Keyblade and she called hers. Thankfully her teaching style was much less brutal than her fighting style. She understood he knew nothing about fighting in water so the learning approach had to be different. Still, although Rachel was a good teacher she didn't go easy, even in practice. Riku was surprised how easy it was to find the rhythm necessary to fight underwater. But that still didn't remove the awkwardness. What surprised him most was that even though this was a new fighting style, he couldn't land any good hits. Perhaps it was the drag he could feel from the water that was distracting him. It felt like someone had attached a rock to the end of his weapon.

They swam for about an hour before going back to shore. Sora, Rachel and Bryan each used Aeroga to dry them off faster. Once again they moved to yet another part of the island. Kairi went off with Rachel to show her some of the secret and fun places on this section of the beach. The boys sat in the sand with their backs resting against tall palm trees. This beach had memories of its own. This beach could remember a small home-made raft once anchored upon its shores.

And it remembered the routes two boys had taken in their race to name their raft.


	7. Day 2: Guy Time

"So you're from Radiant Garden." Sora said.

"Born and raised." Bryan answered. "We lived in another district farther away from the heart of the city and the castle. I can count on one hand the number of times I'd actually gone to the castle courtyards myself."

Sora talked about Tron, the datascape and when the citys' security system had gone haywire. Despite living there his whole life, there were many secrets about the castle and the goings-on with experiments of hearts Bryan never knew about. There were a few things they both knew. From descriptions, Bryan recognized Leon, Yuffie and Aerith. He didn't know them personally but enough to know if he were to say hello he'd get a greeting in return.

Then Bryan mentioned how he had been trained in magic with Merlin but never knew they lived in the same city. Sora thought that was incredible and told everything he knew about Merlin. How he had a hidden house in the corner of the Third District in Traverse Town. How Merlin had also offered to teach him more about magic. How he had met Winnie the Pooh and friends from an enchanted book Merlin owned. In return, Bryan shared his experiences with the kooky old wizard. He talked about getting to his cottage through an enchanted mirror in Master Yen Sid's tower. How he and Rachel had rescued him from a dark trap set by the wicked mad Madam Mim.

Riku didn't have much to contribute to the conversation but enjoyed listening. He had never been to the city of Radiant Garden. He had only known parts of the castle when it was still known as Hollow Bastion. He had never met Merlin, but after hearing his friends talk about the old man with such fondness he kinda've wanted to.

A relaxed silence followed. It probably only lasted a few minutes but even that amount of time with no talking surprised Riku. Surely Sora would have something to say. But it was oddly not Sora who broke the silence first.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Bryan asked out of nowhere.

It took Riku a second to realize Bryan was talking to him.

"Huh? Me? No. Why do you want to know?"

"Rachel made a comment last night about how she thought you were cute. If you're already seeing someone I'll tell her to forget it."

"She said-?" Riku began, slightly horrified now that it had been said out loud.

Sora grinned worse than the Cheshire cat.

"She also thinks your hair's amazing."

Sora made a snort-like noise, a result of trying to hold a laugh in. Riku glared flaming daggers at him but that only made Sora burst out laughing.

"It's not funny so knock it off!"

"You're right, it isn't _funny_." Sora said, looking happier than a delinquent in a room of glass with a baseball bat. "This is _great_! You've got the attention of a girl!"

It should be punishable by law to smile like that. Now Sora had confirmation of what he and Kairi suspected last night. Fantastic. Now he'd never shut up.

"So what else did she say?" Sora asked Bryan. He was obviously going to milk this for all it was worth and Riku was gonna get him for it.

"That's about it." Bryan answered. "I really can't tell you anymore."

"Try to get more out of her tonight." Sora instructed Bryan. "Oh I hope she's into him. It will be great to see Riku _in love_." He teased, mockingly batting his eyes at Riku.

"I am going to punch you to the sun." Riku vowed.

"What? I'm just doing what a best friend is _supposed_ to." Sora said innocently, recoiling as though his heart had been crushed like a wine grape.

Riku wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to talk about it or why he let it make him uncomfortable. It's not like Rachel was throwing herself at him. It should be flattering, right? Then again, maybe he did know. The only girl he had ever really _liked_ had been Kairi. And that kind of _like_ came from a younger boy just brushing manhood without really knowing exactly what love was. Riku had long since accepted that Sora was the one Kairi had chosen. Looking back with wiser eyes, he was sure she would have always chosen Sora.

Maybe it was just because his social skills were a little rusty. The only girls about his age he saw on a regular basis that he could stand to be around and weren't just classmates were Kairi and Selphie, and he'd never had any romantic feelings toward her. Before his first crush had any time to blossom on further, the Destiny Island were destroyed and their adventure began. With all its ups, downs and rough patches, that left very little time to meet girls, let alone get to know one well enough to form a more-than-just-friends relationship.

He'd never had a girl have a romantic interest in him before. Well, maybe a few schoolgirl crushes but most of those had been ignored. Why this revelation felt so strange Riku wasn't sure. It wasn't like he'd ever lain awake thinking about how he should probably get a girlfriend. None of his hours had ever been lost musing over the strength and loyalty he could offer a girl. Especially over the last few years he'd had bigger concerns than fulfilling his love life. But now that the thought had been isolated, it felt, well, weird. And he certainly couldn't learn anything else about Rachel from her brother after the comments Sora had made. At least not with Sora present by any means. He didn't know if he could stand the teasing.

Thankfully Bryan changed the subject. However, it wasn't just by talking about something else. Bryan called his keyblade, the black and white weapon infused with the power of music called the Bass Blade.

"What's that for?" Sora asked, letting go of the topic surprisingly easy.

"Something awesome." Bryan answered. He held it out straight, closed his eyes and chanted what sounded like a fairy tale spell.

" _Creature born of hope and dreams_

 _You are Fire's greatest pride_

 _Loyalty is your brightest flame_

 _I call you to my side_

 _Seger."_

At first nothing happened. Then, before either of them could inquire what was supposed to happen the sand before them began to swirl, as if powered by a whirlwind. Only there was no wind. It spun quickly. Tendrils of flame began to form. At first just a few wisps, then a gust of fire and magical energy. Riku and Sora were on their feet, alarmed by the sudden tornado of flame. But as quickly as the gust appeared, it dissipated. Riku gasped quietly and stared that the center of where the whirlwind had formed.

A beast of some kind was in its place. A grey-brown doglike animal with a red underbelly and heavy cloven feet stood silently with its eyes closed. Large teeth could be seen under its lips. It opened its eyes. They were blood red with no irises. It turned to them and curled its lip up.

"Seger, hey," Bryan called to it.

The creature turned to him and wagged its bushy tail once. But then it turned back to Riku and Sora and resumed its suspicious and unpleasant stare.

"Seger! Come here." Bryan commanded. He tapped on his thigh twice. "It's ok, they're friends."

The beast apparently named Seger flattened its ears to them before obeying its master. It sat at Bryan's left but didn't lie down, its erect posture was a little intimidating. Bryan put his arm around his monster and rubbed its thick fur up and down in a reassuring way.

"He won't hurt you." Bryan told them. "Seger's just a little slow to trust."

"What _**is**_ it?" Sora asked in awe. Despite Bryan's reassurances the creature wouldn't attack it still looked at them with an unpleasant glare.

"This is called a Flamus Lupus, the Fire Wolf. His name is Seger." Bryan scratched behind its ear. "And he's been a part of my battle team for almost three years.

"That's amazing." Sora approached cautiously.

A deep growl formed low in Seger's throat but he didn't move. Bryan told his beast to behave and the growling stopped. Sora tentatively held out his hand and gently rubbed the top of its head. It didn't growl. It didn't move. It didn't do anything. It just glared at him. If there wasn't a glint of life in its eyes and its body wasn't warm, it would have easily been mistaken for a statue.


	8. Day 2: Girl Time

Meanwhile

* * *

Kairi showed Rachel all her favorite spots on the Island. From the nooks and crannies loved by children to the sparkling tide pools abundant in bright life. They waded in the shallows, inspecting pretty shells and stones and poking anemones with sticks to watch them close up. Kairi first asked if it was ok for Rachel to get in the water. Rachel said that as long as the water level was thigh-deep or less she wouldn't transform.

Much like what had happened on the other side of the Island, the subject came around to boys. Kairi asked if Rachel was seeing anyone, only not as bluntly as Bryan had had. She of course asked in a teasing fashion what Rachel thought of Riku. But it was the kind of teasing that was ok between girls. Rachel answered honestly that she found him attractive.

(If you, the reader, have any knowledge at all about how teenage girls talk about boys they like you can imagine how their conversation might have sounded.)

Kairi told Rachel about many of Riku's good points. But also about the horrors he had experienced in the last few years. She didn't go into detail, even she didn't know all the details since Riku rarely spoke about it, but Kairi wanted her to know so she could avoid stepping on a landmine by accident. Kairi knew her friend well enough to know his heart had been scarred. He'd been strong so far to heal on his own but Kairi still wondered and worried sometimes if the damage was deeper than he let on. Maybe deeper than even he knew.

Kairi begged Rachel never to tell Riku she had told her all this. She didn't want Riku to feel like she'd broken his confidence but Kairi felt it needed to be said if Rachel had any intention to pursue a relationship, friendship or otherwise. But she also made sure to tell Rachel not to put on kid gloves when speaking with him. He wouldn't want anyone to treat him with pity and would undoubtedly notice if someone was. Rachel assured Kairi pitying anyone the way she was describing wasn't how she handled things. As great a friend Rachel could tell Riku could be, she was still teetering on whether or not there would be any pursuing affections. Kairi teasingly encouraged her to at least stir the waters. Maybe something interesting might turn up once the sand settled.

They walked among the tropical flowers for a time. The topic changed to something less heavy. Kairi wanted to know about Rachel's magic. She'd only fought with a Keyblade once but had no idea how to use magic. Rachel told her a Keyblade was not the only way to use magic. Keyblade magic was usually limited to elemental magic, fire, ice, wind etc. But with proper training magic could be used without a Keyblade.

"So you can use magic without your Keyblade?"

"Well, I'm by no means a proper sorceress yet, but that is my goal. I'm making great progress though." Rachel brushed the fingertips of her right hand together then opened her hand flat. Dancing in her palm a small blue flame flickered. She held it for about a minute before she let it fade. Rachel did the same motion with her left hand and held a small orb of light. By concentrating she could change the lights color.

"That's beautiful!"

"You really want to see beautiful? Watch this."

Rachel summoned Moonlit Majesty, held it out in front of her and spoke an incantation of some kind.

" _Creature born of hope and dreams_

 _Across the stars we ride._

 _Beast of beauty and of grace,_

 _I call you to my side._

 _Fantasia."_

The ground in front of them crackled with magical energy. Nearby leaves and flowers were swept into a wide whirlwind that twisted with the magic. For a moment there was a wall of twisting colors, then it all faded quickly. Kairi gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth.

In front of them stood a large, teal horse. No, not a horse! It was a _unicorn_! A real unicorn! The magical beast shook its thick mane and looked at them with its dark eyes. When it saw Rachel it made a move to approach her happily, but stopped when it noticed she wasn't alone. Kairi's stomach flipped with butterflies. This was amazing and it hadn't even done anything. The unicorn flicked an ear quizzically. Taking a small step closer, it leaned forward to Kairi to give her a good look-over without getting to close. Kairi looked at Rachel. Was it ok to touch it? Rachel nodded at her to go ahead.

She was so excited and a little nervous her hand shook. The unicorn sniffed her fingertips then allowed her to pat its nose. Kairi was on the verge of happy tears. She actually did start crying when the unicorn brushed her cheek with its nose then nuzzled her gently.

Rachel smiled. "She likes you."

"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Kairi said, breathless.

"Kairi, this is Fantasia, the UniGlow."

Fantasia stepped back and made an obvious bow. For several minutes Kairi petted its smooth nose and slender neck. The UniGlow enjoyed the attention. If she felt like Kairi wasn't petting hard enough or making enough contact Fantasia would gently stomp her cloven hooves in the sand.

"What's this?" Kairi ran her hand over Fantasia's chest. There was a symbol that looked like a heart.

"That's the symbol of a Dream Eater Spirit. Fantasia is a creature of dreams."

Just when Kairi thought this magnificent beast couldn't get any more magical.

"Would you like to ride her?"

The answer was of course a very enthusiastic yes. Fantasia knelt down and Rachel helped Kairi onto her back. Kairi had never ridden a horse before and was a little nervous. Rachel assured her that Fantasia was gentle and she had nothing to worry about. Kairi wrapped her hands around the thick hair of the UniGlow's mane. When Fantasia sensed Kairi was ready, she paced at a gentle trot around the beach. Kairi's smile was brighter than the Destiny Island sun. She was riding unicorn! How many people could say that?

"Want to race down the beach to the boys?"

Fantasia heard the word "race" and Rachel had her full attention.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't worry. Fantasia won't let you fall off. I've known her for three years and whether galloping for fun or riding hard in the midst of battle I've never fall off. I'm sure she uses magic to make it impossible to fall."

Rachel jumped and her magical pixie dust caught her and she floated two feet off the ground.

"Ready?"

Fantasia stomped her foot in the sand. She turned around as far as she could to look at Kairi. The Princess of Heart smiled and hung on tight.

"Let's go!"


	9. Day 2: Keyblades

"This is amazing!" Sora said, looking over the unicorn.

The UniGlow enjoyed all the attention. The wolf hadn't budged from Bryan's side. It didn't look like it had any interest in any of them at all. It looked at Kairi and closed its eyes pleasantly when she scratched behind its ears but otherwise didn't move. It made no sound and didn't so much as twitch an ear for the remainder of the time they spent with it. It's only indication of life was when Bryan touched or addressed it. Its loyalty and preference to its master was obvious. In fact, if Bryan hadn't ordered it to be nice, Sora was pretty sure it would have still been growling at anyone who got close.

"So what are they?" Riku asked. He pushed the unicorn's nose away from his face. It kept sniffing around his hair and its breath tickled.

"Beasts of the dream world. When a world loses its heart it goes into like a dream state to protect itself. These creatures exist within it and can be tamed." Rachel answered. Fantasia went back to her with a pouty trudge after Riku's rejection. "We used special fairy magic to bring them from the dream world into the real one."

"How'd you do that?" Kairi asked.

"Blue pixie dust," Bryan answered. "It has a stronger magic than regular pixie dust that can make things float or fly." The siblings explained about where blue pixie dust came from and how it was used. The fairies of Pixie Hollow still considered themselves deep in the debt even though it had been years since they'd saved the pixie dust tree from Natures End.

"But we could only bring Fantasia and Seger into the real world. For all the power blue pixie dust has, it took our entire share to make those two tangible." Rachel said.

"So you have more of them?" Kairi asked eagerly.

"I have two and Rachel has three." Bryan said. "I have Seger," he brought his arm around the dog. "White is my White Snake, the electric cobra and Rachel also has Jewel the ice whale and RolliPolli a cat-dog thing."

"After the next blue moon shines in Pixie Hollow we plan to go back and ask for a bit more so the rest can join us on our adventures." Rachel finished.

"That's incredible." Sora said. "Think maybe one day we could go to Pixie Hollow? It would be great to see Peter and Tinker Bell again."

"Don't see why not." Bryan said.

"So are these things like pets?" Kairi asked. "You've given them all names like you would a pet."

"Bryan said Seger was his battle companion." Riku said.

"That's right." Bryan answered. "These creatures can be made to serve the light, and once you've managed that, you have a loyal companion for life. We give them names just because it's fun."

"So you named your creature called a White Snake…White?" Kairi asked.

"He's not very original when it comes to naming things." Rachel told her playfully. "He once brought home a kitten when we were kids saying it was the new recruit of the family. Its name ended up being New Recruit because he never came up with anything else. True story."

Bryan rolled his eyes, brushing off his sisters teasing. Sora laughed.

"What was that thing you spoke earlier to bring Seger here?" Sora asked Bryan. "That chant or spell thing."

"Rachel said something like that before Fantasia appeared." Kairi said.

"It's a summoning spell," Rachel said. "Each one has a different chant to call them specifically to where ever we are from their usual home in Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town?!" Sora exclaimed. "You guys have been to Traverse Town?" The first world the young key bearer ever visited would always be special to him. "But how could your dream creatures live outside a dream world without the special dust?"

"Well if you've been to Traverse Town they you'll know it doesn't work the same as other worlds." Bryan told him.

"Yeah, I've heard that." Sora agreed.

"Traverse Town is a refuge world, a world that exists in the space between spaces." Rachel explained. Fantasia had lain down in the sand between Rachel and Kairi. "When a heartless world regained its heart, the creatures inside would cease to exist. Just like how a dream just stops when you wake up."

"But Seger and the others were special to us. They touched our hearts in a special way. We found Traverse Town and there they were."

"They had found a place in our hearts and therefore couldn't just vanish as though they'd never existed. So a piece of Traverse Town accepted them. Heartless worlds are sort've kept in a space between spaces and that's kind've where Traverse Town is. Only makes sense that's where they would go."

"It is pretty cool to race through an entire town and have it all to ourselves."

"There isn't anyone else?" Sora asked, concerned, thinking about Pinocchio, Gepetto and the nephews.

"Well if people are sent back to their home world then of course a refuge world would be empty." Riku reminded. "Maybe no one else is displaced and that's why the town's empty. It's probably just sitting their empty in case it's ever needed again."

"Makes it real nice to practice and spar in the second or third districts with no one around." Bryan said.

"Second district especially since there are a lot of ledges and such to jump around on."

"You must spar like that a lot then." Kairi said.

"Keeps us on our toes and gives us a chance to explore the potential of our different Keyblades." Rachel told her.

"Hey! What do all your Keyblades look like? You've been adventuring longer than we have so you must have collected plenty of keychains." Sora said.

He reached into a small pouch on his belt. The charms clinked together musically when he enclosed his hand around the batch. He spread them out on the sand. The beautiful charms glistened in the afternoon sun. Rachel and Bryan did the same. Everyone clustered in a circle around the keychains. One by one everyone picked up each charm in turn for examination.

A butterfly. A scallop shell. A cotton candy cone. A sand dollar. An ace of hearts. A rose made of ice. A jack-o-lantern. A red rose. And many, many others. Rachel took out another one from a different pocket. This one was a small blue orb held in place by winding pieces of gold. It was the only charm in the lot that wasn't flat.

"What does that one look like?" Kairi asked, picking up the golden cage and looking in awe at the shining blue orb.

Rachel smiled and called her keyblade. Kairi gave her the charm and Rachel switched it with the winged star of Moonlit Majesty. When she clipped on the new charm, the old one magically popped off as the Keyblade changed. First Laugh practically glowed in the island sun. As did Kairi's expression.

"Oh! Oh! Now that one!" She picked up a shiny copper trapezoid with a turquoise crescent moon.

"That one's mine." Bryan reached for it and switched out the Bass Blade for Cross-Cut.

"My turn!" Rachel picked up one that looked like a plain book.

Sora took it, called the Kingdom Key and transformed it into Spellbinder.

"This one's got a lot of magic power." Sora told her. "I actually got it from Merlin."

"I sensed it had magic. Both of these Keyblades are also gifts from Merlin. Mine was made when I let him experiment with a bit of my pixie dust and Bryan's was an apology gift for having to leave without saying goodbye."

It took a while but eventually every Keyblade had its chance to be shown off. Sora actually had more than either Rachel or Bryan. Then again, they had also revisited a lot of the world's they'd been to in the dream state.

"These are amazing." Kairi said.

"It's so cool to see so many other Keyblades." Sora said as he picked up his keychains.

"Likewise." Bryan told him.

Rachel held her hand sideways and rippled her fingers. When she did the remaining keychains floated up from the sand. The siblings picked out their share of the charms and put them back in their pouches. Rachel held on to the winged star.

Riku raised his eyebrows, impressed. "That's cool."

"You pick up a trick or two every once in a while." Rachel smiled. She took off the chain for Ocean Song before she replaced it with Moonlit Majesty. But before she could Sora stopped her. Riku noticed it too.

"That's not the Kingdom key." Sora noted. "Aren't all basic Keyblades the same?"

"I wouldn't know." Bryan said. "When we found our Keyblade it looked nothing like yours."

"But a Keyblade has to choose its master." Riku said. "How could you just find it? And don't you mean _your_ Keyblade _s_? You said 'our Keyblade', like two people one weapon."

"No, I meant it that way." Bryan unclipped the target of Sure Shot to reveal the silver Keyblade underneath. He held it up so they could see the dangling keychain. Rachel did the same. It looked to be a circle with compass needle points inside it only it was split in two on a diagonal. Rachel had north and west, Bryan had east and south.

"There is quite story behind how we found our Keyblade and became key bearers." Rachel said. And the siblings told the entire story of how they found No Shortcuts and how the Keyblades were actually one. The three friends were astounded by the story.

"So those Keyblades are actually one split in two." Riku confirmed.

"That is amazing how a Keyblade can do that." Sora said. "It chose both of you and made it so it could have two masters."

"Observe." Bryan said. He stood up. Rachel handed him her half of their Keyblade. With each half in hand, Bryan smirked like he knew a really cool secret. With all eyes intently on him, Bryan snapped the two blades together and they became one. The fine, intricate weavings of Rachel's half became the detailed inner works of Bryan's otherwise plain and solid Keyblade shaft and teeth. The keychain had become whole when the pieces were reunited. It was a very beautiful blade. The polished silver was almost too difficult to look at in the afternoon sun. That was also a really neat trick they worked on a lot after the dream worlds. They'd put their Keyblade together again many times. So far it always returned to No Shortcuts. However, they were practicing hard to make it fuse while still in form of another Keyblade. The melding of Keyblades was a dream they hoped to one day realize.

"Wow," Kairi said in awe. "But isn't its name a little cryptic? No Shortcuts?"

"Not at all," Rachel took the Keyblade from her brother and handed it to Kairi. "Read what's on the back of the keychain."

Kairi held the keychain in her hand and turned it over. There was an inscription on the back.

" _There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going."_ She read aloud.

"That's deep." Riku said.

"It's a philosophy we've tried to live by." Rachel told him. She passed the blade back to her brother.

"We actually had it for several months before we realized anything was written on the back." Bryan said.

After giving them a moment to view with awe, Bryan took the two apart with the ease of unsnapping two puzzle pieces.

"I am so glad you two came here. There is so much I never thought possible." Sora said. "I wish we could have met you sooner. I know we could have learned so much from each other."

"We can still teach you plenty." Bryan said. "Especially now."

"Why now?" Riku asked.

"Maybe we should have opened our introductions with what I think you're leading up to." Rachel half-whispered in her brother's direction.

"What?" Kairi asked eagerly. "No secrets! Tell us."

"We're actually Keyblade Masters." Bryan told her.

That led to another very long conversation that took place after Sora stopped acting like an excited puppy about to wet itself. Neither Rachel nor Bryan told them the details of how their Mark of Mastery, that would be like giving someone the answers to a test. Still, the idea the fascinating. The title rang with fun, respectable official-ness. Yet at the same time, each one of the trio thought of Master as a title fit for someone older.

Evening would be approaching soon. It was of mutual agreement by all to retire early. They could all get up at first light if they wanted to meet again but sleep was important too. Most likely the visit the next day would last from dawn to dusk like that day had. Rachel said she'd bring something to eat the next day if she had some time to make it that night. And no one was going to turn down a home-cooked treat. They said farewell. Sora, Kairi and Riku took to their boats and Rachel and Bryan took to the air back to their ship.


	10. The Third Day

Sora stared up at his ceiling. It was easier to get to sleep last night than it was when Rachel and Bryan first came. The eager excitement lost a lot of its overwhelming edge so sleep came easier. When he awoke he felt just as anxious to see them again but also more refreshed.

It was still early morning. His open window allowed the cool ocean air free reign of his room. Not even the sea birds were chatting yet. But he could always hear the distant hum of the ocean. Sora took a long, deep breath. He probably had another hour before daybreak but he knew he wouldn't get back to sleep. As soon as consciousness hit him his mind raced with all the things he wanted to talk about and everything he wanted to ask. They'd touched on a lot of things but he at least knew not everything he'd spoken of had its entire story told. He wanted to know the places they'd seen that he'd been to. And he wanted to know all about the worlds he'd never visited. They touched on some of the other worlds yesterday when comparing keychains. Each one came from somewhere different and most of the names Rachel or Bryan gave (if they even mentioned where the charm came from) weren't familiar.

Keyblade Masters.

Sora wondered what the test they mentioned was like. Obviously to become someone as important as a Master the test couldn't be easy. Still, why not him? He'd like to learn more about it. Rachel was only a few months older than Riku and she was a Master. Bryan, younger than her took the same test at the same time and passed. They had been professionally trained as Keyblade wielders so that made sense. But he had a lot of experience with all sorts of people, monsters and wicked enemies. That must equal out to the same training.

He also wanted to see their ship up close. Maybe they could bring their ship in closer to shore. They told them what they called it, but not where they got it, only that it could travel between worlds with their help. And it was just far away enough on the water that he couldn't get a good enough look.

Then his mind switched to Riku and Rachel and what Kairi and Bryan had said. Kairi suggested Rachel was attracted to him and yesterday Bryan had confirmed it. Exactly how far 'attracted to' could go was anyone's guess. She could just think he was handsome and nothing else. Riku might not even be interested at all. Riku had spoken defensively when Sora teased him, but that's a normal reaction when being teased. When Kairi commented the other night it came completely out of left field so of course he'd deny or avoid anything said to him. It was not like you could fall madly in love in a day and a half anyway. Sora thought back. He hadn't really been looking but as far as he could remember Rachel hadn't made any obvious signs of trying to make Riku notice her. Maybe he'd try to pay closer attention today. Another day might make them more comfortable with feeling out if they had any interest in each other.

That would be great if they did. Yes, he'd tease but Sora would be incredibly happy to see Riku with someone special of his own. Sora and Kairi had grown closer in the time he had been back. They weren't officially _dating_ , per say, but it felt sometimes they were leaning pretty hard in that direction. But if that day came, how would that affect the relationship of the trio? Would that make Riku feel like an awkward third wheel if his two best friends, one being an adolescent crush and the other a lifelong friend, were dating? But if Riku had a girlfriend of his own…

Sora's musings were interrupted when he realized streaks of orange and pink were stretching across the ceiling. He looked over at his clock on the side table. Even though it had always been five minutes slow it was saying he had been lying there for a little more than a half hour. It never failed to amaze how much time could fly when left alone with ones thoughts. The day began now. Sora bounced out of bed. Thankfully no one witnessed the awkward unbalanced dance of trying to quickly put on his big shoes while standing up.

Sora flitted through the kitchen, quickly snagging a few pieces of bread and a banana then out the door he went. He ate the banana as he jogged to the dock. Maybe Kairi was already at the beach waiting for him. She wasn't but he could see Riku coming from a distance when he got there. Sora looked around quickly in case there were other early risers about. There weren't. Sora brought forth his Keyblade and called upon Fire. Instead of shooting it off he allowed the fireball to remain at the end of the Keyblade. Quickly he tossed the pieces of bread over the flame and instantly had beautiful golden toast. The moment of brilliance was cut short when he nearly dropped the second piece when he realized just how hot they were. Still, although his fingertips were none too happy, the toast had a perfect, most satisfying crunch.

"Let's see a toaster do that." He said to himself.

An odd sound from behind him made Sora turned. It was Riku, making a noise caught between a chortle and a choke. The kind of laugh used when witnessing something the mind can't completely categorize as laugh-at foolish or laugh in light of its genius.

"I wanted to get here as fast as I could!" Sora defended.

"I wasn't going to say a word."

That was very likely to be a lie but Sora didn't press the matter further. He brushed away the crumbs on his shirt and sucked gently on his slightly burned fingertips. Kairi came along a few minutes later, carting her little blue cooler.

"Morning!" She said once she got close. "Sora, can you chill this again?"

"More water and sandwiches?" He asked. With a single tap from his Keyblade the cooler frosted like a window on a fall morning.

"And some cheese, crackers and a few apples. I hope there'll be enough for everyone to last the day. "

"Rachel did say she would bring something of her own this time." Sora reminded.

They got in their boats and rowed to the island. Like most days, the early morning waters were glass calm. The trip was always smooth and didn't require a lot of energy to fight the waves.

"There they are." Kairi pointed as the boys rowed.

Sure enough, two dark dots soared above the water. One of them did a loopty loop in the air. Sora could assume that was Rachel. She seemed the more playful of the two. Point proven when they got to the island. Rachel was making a scale model of the Mysterious Tower out of sand. When they docked, Sora got a better look at how she was making it. She held her Keyblade like a magic wand and the sand moved on its own into shape.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he tied off his boat and helped Kairi out. "How are you doing that?"

"Magic." Rachel called across the beach. She circled the tower, making touch ups where ever she could. But she rarely actually touched her sculpture. Every correction was made with a movement of her Keyblade and the sand shifted into each detail.

Sora looked over the tower. It was about eight feet tall and looked exactly as he remembered the Mysterious Tower.

"That's somethin'." Riku said as he walked around examining it. He looked closely into one of the windows and was able to stick a finger through it. "These details are amazing. Is there an entire room in there?"

"She's impossible." Bryan said. "Sometimes when doing a project like that she practically obsesses over those little details. And I mean border-lying OCD obsessive."

"It's the details that make the project fun!" Rachel defended.

It was amazing how quickly she could make such a detailed replica in the time it took them to row to the island. Kairi was picking up stones and shells and placed them on the tower.

"But how exactly did you do it?" Sora wanted to know. "I've never been able to use magic like that."

"Have you ever tried?" Rachel asked.

"Well, no."

Could it be that simple? Just trying? Wasn't like he was against trying something new, he'd just never thought about it. Sora called his Keyblade. Maybe he could make a life-sized sand sculpture of Donald and Goofy. Sora focused on a patch of sand in front of him. Nothing happened. He closed his eyes and called the Wind. Maybe he could pull up the sand with the wind to create a shape. Sora kept his eyes shut and concentrated. He could feel the magic. He stopped and opened his eyes.

Nothing. Just a big mound of sand.

Kairi started laughing. Sora frowned. First tries aren't always successful but this was just sad.

Rachel smiled. She stood next to Sora and his pile of sand. With a swish of her Keyblade the sand shifted and moved as if it had come to life. After a few seconds the sand mound had taken the shape of a cozy cottage about two feet tall. Sora got down on his knees to look inside the open door. She hadn't left out any detail. He could see a bed, fireplace, table and a mountain of books. There were grooves for each strand of straw in the thatched roof.

"What am I missing? I thought the Keyblade could only do elemental magic. You know, Fire, Wind, Ice and all that."

"I'm training to be a sorceress. That kind of magic is different. That magic comes from me and what I'm capable of. Running the magic through my Keyblade makes it stronger."

"You're going to be a sorceress?! That is incredible!"

"She told me about that yesterday." Kairi said. "Show them what you showed me."

Rachel brushed her fingertips together and opened her hand. A bright blue flame appeared in her palm.

"When she's done showing off," Bryan said to them all. "We had something really cool planned for today."

"You planned something?" Riku asked.

Sora could understand Riku's question. They'd only been here for less than three days, they didn't know enough about the world to plan the days' itinerary. Still, yesterday the swim wasn't their idea and they took over the activity once they shared their magic shells.

Rachel and Bryan looked at each other with knowing, Cheshire cat smiles. Bryan took the lead.

"How would all of you like to fly?"

That definitely sounded like a plan.

"Sounded like you've had flying experience already, Sora." Rachel said. "So this should be really special." She had a hand over the golden pouch on her belt. "It'll probably require a bit more for the three of you since you haven't done this before."

"You don't need to save it for yourselves?" Kairi asked. Not like she was complaining but it was in her nature to think of others first.

"Nah," Bryan said. "The pixie dust is kinda like the magic shells. Long term exposure takes its toll after a while. We've been using it regularly for years and the fairies give us refills whenever we come back asking for more."

"I think the same thing happened with Peter Pan. Pixie dust from a fairy friend and a strong happy thought to hold on to for so long made flying become second nature. We keep our pouches full but don't have to refresh the dust on ourselves that often anymore." Rachel said.

"Which is weird." Bryan added. "Apparently fairies need to cover themselves with dust every few days or else they can't fly."

"That makes no sense." Riku said.

"That's what we said." Bryan told him.

"Stop talking! Let's do it!" Kairi jumped up and down and clapped her hands excitedly.

Sora was with her all the way. Yesterday he got to swim once again in his merman form with his friends. Now he could fly again in a way he hadn't been able to do since Captain Hook's ship and the final fight with Ansem.

"Kay, who's first?"

Kairi didn't bother showing any decorum as she got first in line. Rachel laughed before she took to the air herself. She hovered a few feet above Kairi, took a handful of the golden dust and showered her with it. Kairi was all happy giggles.

"Just hold on to your happiest thought and you can fly." Sora told her.

The princess rocked back and forth excitedly on her heels as she closed her eyes like she were making a wish. Then she began to float. Kairi squeaked with surprise and delight. Rachel offered a steadying hand when she started to wobble.

"Ready guys?" Bryan also jumped and caught himself midair. He gestured for Sora and Riku to stand closer together. The friends stood shoulder to shoulder (well, upper arm to shoulder if you really want to get technical with their height difference) and Bryan let it rain gold.

Sora could feel the magic immediately. It felt so familiar, so right. Maybe they could spare a pinch of dust. He didn't really want to be without this gift again. But for now he would enjoy it. Sora laughed out loud and took off. So familiar. So right. It was easier than getting back on a bike. It was as if the years in between never happened. Sora was so elated he couldn't help himself. He zoomed around the beach with about the same amount of directional grace as a house fly on a sugar buzz.

It didn't take long for Riku or Kairi to really get into the swing of how to fly with pixie dust. For the rest of the morning the five friends performed aerial acrobatics on the beach, raced over the ocean waves and soared above the perfect island. Rachel drew a line in the sand and the three boys raced around the entire island. Bryan obviously did the best because he was the most experienced but that didn't mean neither Sora nor Riku handed him the win. They sat in the tallest trees and looked down. A new perspective certainly was exciting. If the trees were a little different Sora would have suggested they swing through the trees like his old friend, Tarzan. It wasn't like they could fall. Alas, one might think a tropical island tree would be covered in vines but none had enough to have the kind of fun Sora imagined. They must have spent hours in the air. Not once did any of them touch ground.


	11. Day 3: Fun and Swim Time

The only thing that stopped the fun was the heat. So by mutual vote the quintet went swimming to cool off. Sora, however, wouldn't hear of swimming again without his tail. Neither would Kairi. Riku consented as well, probably because he knew Sora and Kairi would have forced it on him again if he hadn't. After a time of splashing one another, racing about and having underwater matches did everyone realize it was passed lunchtime. Seeing that no one else was around they all swam back to the dock where Kairi had left her cooler.

"What if we have an ocean picnic?" Kairi suggested. "One of you could make a table out magic or something couldn't you?"

"That's an awesome idea!" Sora was the first to agree. They didn't have to go out very far. In fact they really didn't need to leave the shoreline. They hadn't seen anyone else come to the island for days so no one was worried about being seen as merpeople. That would certainly be interesting to try and explain to his childhood friends why they all suddenly had tails. He summoned his Keyblade and shot Blizzard into the water. The result looked a bit like an abstract lily pad. It was wide but the top looked like the rolling hills of the 100 Acre Wood. At least he had anchored it to the sand so a wave couldn't knock it over.

"I'll fix it." Rachel volunteered. She moved herself around to get closer to the ice float. As she did, she accidentally swam over the end of Riku's tail. "Apologies, 'scuse me." She said when realized she was closer than she thought.

That was understandable. For having an entire ocean to spread out in they had all stuck pretty close together on the shoreline and the water wasn't much more than two feet deep.

"You're fine." Riku answered. He'd been reclining on the sand, propping himself up with his elbows, submerged in water up to his neck.

Sora thought he saw something in his friends face but by the time he realized he may have seen something the look was gone. Maybe that was part of the interaction observation between Riku and Rachel he had planned on but until that moment hadn't. It looked to be an accident. Everyone was so close and, especially Rachel, had pretty long tails. It was a wonder nobody was bumping into each other more than they were. Did Riku not mind the contact? Was there a little 'like' flower beginning to blossom? A wish their dialogue had been longer than "Apologies, 'scuse me" and "You're fine."? Sora promised himself to pay closer attention from then on.

Rachel laid a hand on the ice. Instantly the small berg began to reshape, just like the sand had that morning. It flattened into a circle about four feet across. The edges were curved up sharply to keep the waves from getting their food wet. The center had closely spaced but deep ridges all over it to give the items they'd be placing on it traction if need be. Even though it was magic ice, Sora wasn't sure how long it would survive the sun and warm ocean.

"Be right back." Rachel said and dove to the deeper water.

"Where's she going?" Kairi asked. She started spreading out the drinks, sandwiches, cheese and crackers.

"Oh," Bryn said, realizing. "She got somethin' started last night for today."

"Something that takes all night to cook?" Sora questioned.

"No, just prepared last night and left to bake this morning. She uses enchanted fire when she does anything in the kitchen. It changes depending on what she's making and when she wants it. So this morning she set it to bake carefully so the food would be done whenever without burning but still be warm when we're ready for it."

"What did she make?" Kairi asked.

He shrugged.

Rachel returned a few minutes later, flying over the waves as fast as she could and carrying a sack of some kind. When she got close she allowed herself to plop into the water, keeping the bag over her head as she did so.

"Okay, everyone. A special home-baked treat."

She unwrapped her satchel and Sora's nose was assaulted with a succulent aroma he could not identify. Inside were five small loaves of home baked bread. But it wasn't like a sandwich sort of bread. Sora, Riku and Kairi all leaned in to take a deep sniff. They were perfectly golden and smelled heavenly.

"Oh! This smells wonderful!" Kairi exclaimed.

"What is it?" Riku asked.

"I'll tell after you've tried it."

Sora didn't have to be told twice. He picked up a loaf and tore off a corner. It was still nice and warm. There were dark bits and orange chunks inside it with a lot of orange chunks on top. He took a bite. It was soft and delicious.

"Ok, I've tried it, I love it so what is it?" Sora said first.

"Garlic, onion, herbs and assorted cheese."

"When did you have time to learn how to cook?" Sora asked. "Especially so good." From experience he knew gallivanting throughout the worlds keeping hearts safe left very little time to sit back and relax with pedestrian hobbies.

"Well apprenticing under Master Yen Sid was like being in school. Once the bell rings and homework's done the rest of the day I can do anything I want."

"It wasn't like from sunup to sundown every single day was all training." Bryan said.

The tasty loaves made lunch complete and everyone felt satisfyingly full. After lunch everyone pulled themselves ashore. Once they dried off they took to the air again. Flying was too cool not to do. Rachel broke off early. She said personal training for her magic was part of her routine and she needed to get back to it. They let her do her thing and raced around the island in her absence. Thankfully flying after eating wasn't like swimming too soon after eating. Sora did feel a bit of queasiness after doing a few backwards loops, but circles on a full stomach was his own fault.

The four of them hovered straight above the island. Sora reclined with his legs crossed and hands behind his head. He wondered it if were possible to sleep like this without falling. Certainly would never have to worry about finding the perfect mattress again. Maybe a sprinkle of pixie dust on a pillow tied to a string…

"Could we see your ship?" Sora asked. He'd been meaning to ask but they'd been having so much fun. "What kind of ship is it? Where did you get it?"

"We'd been meaning to do that." Bryan answered. "C'mon, we can go now if you like. I'll give you the grand tour and tell you the whole story."

They flew downward before leveling out over the water.

"Actually guys," Riku began. "I'll catch up to you in a bit."

Sora was too eager to see the ship to question why his friend wanted to stay behind.


	12. Day 3: Rachel and Riku

Rachel sat on a tree on a small plateau by herself. The plateau was a great place to practice. Still, she had thought it odd such a perfect cylinder plateau would be just a hop skip and a jump away from shore. But it wasn't the oddest thing she'd ever seen. The tree grew horizontal, like some heavy giant had once sat on it and it never straightened back up. This spot had a beautiful view of the water and she could imagine a charming view of the sunsets. On their travels they hadn't been to any islands or many places that had a decent beach. This was really a lovely place. It had been a while since she had seen Sora or the others. But that was ok. Alone time was important too. She tried to get in some magic practice every day, no matter how little it was or how simple the spells. Rachel had her own routine with the spells she was supposed to practice. The last few days she'd let it slip because so much had been happening.

Rachel lay back on the tree, hands folded over her stomach. The sky had never been this pretty back home. At least not until recently when Radiant Garden had begun to regain its former beauty. There were no trees or waves to make such lovely sounds either. She swiveled her head a bit to follow an interestingly shaped cloud from time to time. When looking up particularly far Rachel caught a glimpse of something colorful on the tree. Curious, she sat up to see what it was. At the topmost part of the tree, partially covered by palm fronds was a large star-shaped fruit. Interesting. She'd never seen anything like that before. The tree top hung several feet over the water so Rachel had to cling to the tree and inch her way along to get it.

Once she had it Rachel sat sideways, cross legged to examine it. It was certainly the largest fruit she'd ever seen. She could hold it with both hands. The surface was smooth but covered with very fine peach fuzz. Two of the points had a single leaf. A sniff inspection revealed it to have a subtle citrus-y sweet aroma. Not quite as potent as an orange but not as sweet as a strawberry. Still, it looked ripe. It was firm without being hard but not so soft to suggest it was over ripe. Sort've like a pear once it begins to soften but before it's too soft to eat. Now for the big question; how do you eat it? Could it be eaten skin and all like an apple? Should it be peeled? How would she peel it? This thing wasn't poisonous was it? Hopefully not. It certainly looked yummy.

"Those shouldn't be eaten alone." Came a voice from behind her.

Rachel turned to see Riku crossing the bridge.

* * *

Riku had been standing at the door to the shack for a while. He broke off from the others in hopes to have a word with Rachel. He was surprised no one questioned why he wanted to stay behind. The reason, he thought, had been obvious and Kairi for one had the alertness of a watchdog to anything that might be going on between him and Rachel. Not saying there was anything going on at all, but he was certain someone would guess his motives and jump on the tease train.

Rachel was lounging on the bent tree. He had been meaning to talk to her alone all day but found himself second guessing what he would say and debating whether he should just leave. But why? He was not shy. He was not awkward. He never had a problem talking to anyone. He never opened up much to anyone he didn't trust but that had no bearing at this particular moment. She was a Keyblade Master. As such it was inevitable from now on he and Sora would be crossing paths with her and her brother more often. So why was he holding back and questioning if he even wanted to talk to her. Perhaps it was the knowledge bestowed by Bryan that she found him attractive. Again, flattering but he wasn't sure how the next step was supposed to go. Maybe he had too much pride to want to risk the awkwardness.

 _How do girls act when they_ like _you_? Riku wondered.

Was this even a situation of _like_ or just a pleasing physical appearance and nothing more? He could see himself _liking_ her from what he'd seen over the last few days. But if she wasn't interested in him past just being eye candy it would be awkward to try and fish for her affection if she wasn't serious. Maybe that was what made him so hesitant: Her being uninterested regardless of how he felt. He'd sooner step in a bear trap then endure that kind of awkwardness.

 _What this_ is _,_ Riku thought _. Is ridiculous. You've plunged headlong into dangers that had a good possibility of killing you and you won't move your feet to find out whether or not a girl likes you._

Maybe he could cross the bridge and hope a board would creak. If she heard it, she'd either invite him over or give some indication she wanted to be alone.

 _Well that's mature_. A rude little voice in his head hissed. _Oh, look at the great warrior Riku!_ _You risked being trapped forever behind the Door to Light to save your friends and now you're thinking about cheap stealth tactics that leave you an op out?_ _Man up! She's a girl, not a rattlesnake!_

Riku would have liked to tell the voice to shut up but it was right.

It was then he noticed Rachel's attentions were directed elsewhere. She was looking at something at the end of the tree. Then she clung to the trunk and maneuvered like an inchworm to get whatever she had seen, then did the same in reverse while trying not to crush her prize. It was kinda funny to watch. Couldn't she have just flown to grab it? When she sat up again he got a good look at what she had. A Paopu fruit. Riku could tell by the way she was examining it she had no idea what it was. It wasn't until she acted as if she were going to take a bite out of it did he see his opportunity to step in.

"Those shouldn't be eaten alone." He called.

Rachel looked up as he crossed the bridge. "What do you mean?" she asked when he got closer.

"That's a Paopu fruit. The local legend goes that the destinies of those who eat it together become intertwined forever. That's why you shouldn't eat one by yourself. It's meant to be shared with someone you really care about."

"Oh." Not sure what else to do with it Rachel put it on the tree branch behind her. "So where are the others?"

"Still on your ship with your brother, I think."

"He better not let either of them fly that thing. It can't cross worlds without our Keyblade but I don't want to have to salvage the King from the bottom of the ocean because somebody doesn't know how to drive."

Riku laughed. He could actually picture that being the result if Sora tried to steer the ship. From stories he had learned the first time Sora had tried to take control of Donald and Goofy's Gummi ship they ended up crash landing in the jungle. Yes, time made room for improvement but it was still amusing to think about.

"So," Riku said after a short silence. "How long have the two of you been Masters?"

 _Really, idiot?_ _ **That's**_ _your ice-breaker?_

"A little less than a year." Rachel answered.

"What's it like?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Not the test to become a Master, actually achieving it."

"Oh, sorry. There's a great slew of new, amazing powers and a sense of well-deserved pride. I was elated when Master Yen Sid pronounced us official Keyblade Masters. But it's not like there's a lot about yourself that changes. Now we can freely travel through the closed gates to other worlds. We have a lot of friends out there I plan to never fall out of touch with. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have friends out there you'd like to see again?"

"Well, I," Riku said after another short silence. "No, not really."

Summarizing the best he could and not giving too many details, Riku told her about how he had chosen the path of darkness years ago and that led to a series of bad decisions and a lot of time trying to find repentance for all the wrong he'd done. Much of that time had been spent coming to grips with the darkness that had festered within himself and trying to rescue Sora from the evil that had taken an interest in him. The only ones he had helping him through the entire ordeal were King Mickey and DIZ. Everyone else just got in his way by trying to get him to give into the darkness.

The whole story only took less than two minutes to cover everything. He wasn't ready to give the unabridged version to anybody just yet. He knew those were the facts so there was no reason to hide behind the past. Besides, he wasn't the kind to cower in the shadow of the shame. Maybe one day he'd tell someone the entire tale in detail. Every time he felt sad. Every time he felt alone. Every time he wondered if there truly was no way to atone for the choices he'd made. Then again…there was something about her Riku couldn't put his finger on. Something that, if he had a little less control over what he wanted to people to know about him, Riku wondered if he'd tell her everything right then. Did he just need to tell somebody? Or was it actually _her_? It had to be. Something itched at the back of his mind that all it would take was for her to say or ask the right thing and he'd sing like a canary. And _**that**_ was the strangest part.

Rachel had listened quietly. She hadn't interrupted with questions. He hadn't sensed any disgust or disapproval from his story. Then again, reading girls was probably much harder than sensing darkness.

"I can't even imagine going to go through all that. Especially all alone." She finally said quietly.

He wasn't expecting that. No comments at all about him admitting to using Darkness? That was all she was going to say? Then again, did she even need to say anything else? "I wasn't always alone." Riku said. Might as well try to make it sound not so bad to avoid pity. He didn't need or want anybody walking around him on tip-toes. "King Mickey was there to help me through a lot."

"A lot is not always. I wish I could say I knew how you feel. But I've always had someone with me through the good and bad. I can't even fathom what it must be like to be in that kind of black hole trying to claw your way out, never knowing when or if someone would ever come to give you a leg up."

Oddly, Riku found himself smiling. He didn't think he heard any pity. He didn't need anyone feeling sorry for him, but she wasn't. And she hadn't followed up with a question or comment about him giving in to and using Darkness. Did that really not bother her? Then, as he thought about it Riku could sense something about her. He glanced at her sitting up on the tree. Was that the glow of the setting sun or was there a glow coming off of her? Specifically her heart.

He could sense darkness easily, even smell it. But he thought he could see, and… _feel_ the light within her? That was interesting. Riku didn't know he could do that, if that was in fact what was happening. That was just the beginning. This light, this brightness about her, it was strong. And warm. How was that possible? It was like…what was it like? Standing in the spring sunshine? Being close to a gentle fire? No. Like the warmth shared between two friends from a heart-felt hug. Was it possible to sense the essence of another person's heart? Not just its light or darkness, but what truly made that person who they were? If so, is this what Rachel's heart felt like? If he wasn't imagining it, he would be lying to say he didn't like the feeling.

It was obvious she was a good person. And strong. And…talented. And if he what he was feeling was true and not something mistranslated or imagined, her heart was big and warm and bright. Perhaps getting to know her on a more personal level would be something to consider.


	13. Day 3: Sneakery

_Meanwhile_

As Riku stood on the plateau talking with Rachel, Sora, Kairi and Bryan had long since come ashore after getting the grand tour of The Sky King. They couldn't find Rachel or Riku right away so they split up around the island to look for them. Sora was the first to see Rachel sitting on the tree but from his angle on the beach couldn't see that Riku was with her. He went up through the shack intending to ask if she'd seen Riku. When he opened the door he saw the two were talking together. For a moment Sora froze, suddenly not sure how to proceed. Riku was talking… alone…with a _girl_. It could be nothing. Maybe just casual friend talk…or…

Kairi did make that comment the other day. Bryan did say Rachel thought Riku was cute. Maybe Riku thought the same about her and invited her to talk. This could be exactly what he had been meaning to keep an eye out for. Still, whether anything romantic or whatever was going on, the snooping-on-a-friend instinct was somehow irresistible. They could be talking about something completely dull but he just had to find out. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

Kairi and Bryan were on the beach below. Sora motioned for them to come up to join him but also made obvious shhhh-ing gestures. They looked at each other quizzically but came up as quietly as they could. Bryan took Kairi by the hand and silently flew up to Sora's side. Sora took each of them by the wrist and pulled them both down behind the bushes.

"What are we doing?" Bryan asked quietly.

"Look over there." Sora whispered. "Riku is talking with Rachel."

"Yeah? So? What's so sp-"

Kairi interrupted with an awed gasp. She held her hands over her mouth to quickly silence herself.

"Do you think they like each other?" Kairi giggled as quietly as she could.

"One way to find out." Sora answered.

Bryan got a look of someone who had just caught up to the punchline of a joke.

The three kept low in the bushes peeking through gaps in the leaves. A few times one of them would twitch and a leaf would rustle or they'd say something a little too loudly. Riku would do a half-turn and ask if Rachel had heard something. When she answered no he'd shrug and turn back.

"This isn't working." Sora whispered. "I can't hear enough of what they're saying."

"Me neither," Kairi agreed. "We need to get closer. Who knows how much good stuff we've missed already."

"Yeah, but how?" Bryan asked. "They'll see us if we fly to the top of a palm tree. And the only way to get across is the bridge. It's not like any of us can turn invisible."

"That's actually not true." Kairi said. "There's a small platform and a ladder on the other side of the plateau. The question is how to get there."

"Did you forget we can fly?" Bryan asked.

"Oh, right."

Sora stood up slowly and gingerly like there was an angry wasp in the vicinity. On his best tip-toe with those huge shoes he sneaked to the edge of the ledge. He froze, looking in Riku's direction. Both had their heads turned the other way. Sora waved Kairi over. She carefully tip-toed to his side. Sora held her with one arm by the waist and jumped, gliding low and around the plateau to the shelf in the rock with what was left of the pixie dust they'd been sprinkled with earlier. Bryan didn't bother slinking to the edge. He just pushed himself upward so he floated a few inches off the ground. Using his hands he pulled himself along, watching all the while to make sure no one had turned around. When he got to the edge he slipped over it with the ease of a greased snake.

Finding the rock shelf was easy. The three stood there for several minutes, listening to make sure there were no aroused suspicions. So far so good. But they still wanted a better ear. Slowly and gingerly Sora climbed the ladder and stopped a few rungs from the top. Kairi did the same. The ladder was wide enough for the two of them to stand on. Their biggest fear was if the old wood would creak or groan and give them away. Miraculously, it didn't. Bryan floated at level with Sora. Keeping his back to the wall kept him from floating upward.

They all exchanged devious glances. Now the snooping could commence properly.


	14. Day 3: Talking

There was a silence but not an uncomfortable one. Riku hadn't said anything after her last comment and Rachel didn't press. After a moment or two the silence was broken by a gentle humming. Riku looked up at Rachel. She had her eyes closed and hummed a lovely tune.

"That sounds pretty." Riku said. "Any particular song?"

 _Not like you'd know any songs she might know, you moron. Since when were you interested in music or versed in the culture of Radiant Garden? Once again your ice-breakers rode in all the way from Lameville only to find their reservations had been misplaced._

"No," She answered. "Just a happy tune for the stars."

Riku raised an eyebrow slightly. "For the stars? What do you mean?"

Rachel smiled and laughed a little. "It might sound silly but it's just something I've been doing since I was a kid. Back in Radiant Garden there was an old man who was always carving something or other by the lily pond. Adults thought he was an odd duck but children loved him. He was always telling stories about other worlds among other fantastic things. Like I'm sure most of the children did, I outgrew the wonderment of most of those stories. I enjoyed the story but I stopped dreaming that it was real. But there was one thing he told me I never forgot and could never let go of."

Riku looked to her, honestly interested in whatever that story could have been. "I'm listening."

"He said, all the stars were the glimmering souls of other worlds,"

Riku smiled. How true that was.

"But not all stars shine with the same brightness. He said that the dimmer stars were that way because somewhere on that world someone, deep within their very souls was truly unhappy. Their sorrow was so deep it touched the very world in which it lived, making it shine less brightly. After he said this he would ask, 'What do you do then with someone who is unhappy? You cheer them up, of course.' Then I asked him, 'How? How can you cheer someone up who lives in another world?' I remember the way he chuckled when I asked him that. He said, 'Well, I know what makes me feel better no matter what mood I'm in. There's just something about a happy song that I can't help but smile when I hear it. And if you mean what you're singing, I mean, really put your heart into your song, it has the power to travel across the stars and touch the hearts of the ones who need to smile.'"

Silence followed her story. Riku didn't answer right away. That was a beautiful story. He had hadn't quite gotten choked up by it, but was truly touched by the sweet innocence of an old man's fairy tale. However, no one, not Sora or Kairi would ever know about it, even as a deathbed confession. It surprised himself most of all. He'd never been the emotional type.

No, it was more than that. It wasn't just a lovely story. It was a familiar one. Different, yet the same. Although hazy, the memory went back to him and Sora on the starlit beach as little boys. Sora had started crying but even he didn't know why. Riku remembered the stories of other worlds told to him as a child. He remembered telling Sora he must be feeling the sadness of someone on one of those other worlds. Strange how he had forgotten about that until that moment.

"So," Rachel continued. "For as long as I can remember, whenever I was out late, looking at the stars, I would sing with all my heart so that no one in the worlds had to be sad."

 _Keep it together, Riku, keep it together. Why are you getting emotional like this? You don't get emotional. It's just a nice story so stop being such a sap! Lame conversation starters and now this? You're embarrassing yourself!_

"I'm glad I never stopped. Especially knowing what I know now. Whether or not it works I don't know. But I'd like to believe strong or compassionate hearts can touch others even if they've never met. And I'm sure I can get twenty years in a padded room for talking to myself."

"What? Oh. Sorry. I really was listening. That's a great story. So what kind of things do you sing about?"

"Well, love of course. Hope. Dreams. Silly little diddies that if you don't sing with a smile you're not doing it right. The occasional lullaby. Fragments of songs I never learned the whole thing of."

Riku chuckled quietly. "Like what?" He asked, surprising himself how genuinely interested he was to hear what her singing sounded like.

"Well, um, like…

 _I'm wishing on a star, to follow where you are. I'm wishing on a dream to follow what it means_

 _And I wish on all the rainbows that I see. I wish on all the people who really dream. I'm wishing on a star!_

That's all I know. I'm not even sure if there is any more to that song I wasn't really putting my heart into that one that time to be honest."

"So what does it sound like when you do put your heart into your song? That was nice, by the way."

"Thank you. To me, of course, I like to think it sounds beautiful. And, well, there was this one friend, Elsa, when I was visiting her world I sang for her and her sister one night. She said…no I can't!"

"What? What did she say?"

"It's kinda sappy poetic."

"Doesn't matter." Riku said. Very interested now. "What did she say? How did she describe your voice?"

Was that a blush that accompanied that sheepish smile?

"She said…she said it was like listening to liquid starlight cascading down a frozen waterfall on the brightest day of winter."

Rachel looked at him with a half-wince, apparently expecting him to agree with "sappy poetry" or laugh.

Riku smiled a little. "Now I kinda want to hear what liquid starlight sounds like."

Now that was most definitely a blush. He looked out over the setting sun in case being looked at while performing made her nervous. Rachel slid off the tree and took a step forward. She positioned her feet, one ahead of the other, breathed deeply a few times and began her song.

 _"One little candle burning bright, one little gleam of radiant light, shimmering softly in the night makes the darkness fade away_

 _One little song that's freely sung. One little bit of good that's done, Brightens the world for everyone Like a candle's golden ray_

 _Keep your light shining bright, like a torch of hope held high. Let it glow Let it show. Keep the flame of love alive_

 _One little smile for someone new. One little word of kindness too, Kindles the friendship flame anew, soon the loneliness is gone_

 _One little candle flame when shared, spreads through the darkness everywhere, Reflecting in hearts of those who care and they pass the light along_

 _Keep your light shining bright, Like a torch of hope held high. Let it glow Let it show. Keep the flame of love alive!"_

The last notes of her song danced across the vastness of the ocean. Even to Riku the lapping waves sounded like thunderous applause. He wasn't the poetic type but honestly thought if the elements of nature had hands and voices they would all be clapping and shouting for an encore. It really was like liquid starlight. But that wasn't the half of it. The words spoke to him. It was if she had chosen the song for him. All it takes is the tiniest flicker of light even through an endless abyss of darkness. That small light, even though may not seem very significant has the power to grow. It touches others and helps them to grow and inspires them to pass the light along.

Maybe if he had someone to share a smile or a touch of light in the darkest times over the last few years the trials wouldn't have been so hard. But his relationship with Sora had gone through its rough patches and long absences. For a long time he didn't even know where Kairi was or couldn't get to her. As much as Riku would have liked his closest friends to have been his light, things didn't turn out that way for a long time.

"So?"

Riku smiled. "Liquid starlight."

There was that blush and sheepish smile again.


	15. The Fourth Day

The sun kissed the Destiny Island for the fourth time since the Keyblade Masters anchored off its shores. It cloaked the waves with diamonds and knocked on the side of the foreign ship, trying to alert the occupants of the beautiful new day. It even parted the clouds so they couldn't miss it. But no one appeared on deck for about an hour after all the lines of the dawn had faded from the sky. When they did, it was because of two dots they'd seen on the horizon coming closer.

The two boats came directly to the mighty ship instead of their usual place on the Destiny Island dock. Bryan was waiting on deck for them. Not being a water traveling ship, the King floated about five feet above the highest wave. This made even climbing a rope ladder to come aboard awkward.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain." Sora called from below.

"Permission granted." Bryan called back. "Hold on a second."

The young Master dropped down two ropes that had already been tied to the rail. Once they had been tied to the little boats, he reached over the railing as far as he could and dropped a sprinkle of pixie dust. With only a slight dusting on the bows the boats began to float. They stopped just shy of the railing. Bryan held on to the side of each boat in turn to steady it as his friends got out.

"Where's Rachel?" Kairi asked.

"You guys didn't eat, right?" Bryan asked.

"She said not to when we met up again last night before we left." Sora said.

"Good. She'll be really upset if you didn't come hungry."

The night before, after Rachel and Riku were finished talking the entire group reconvened. Of course Sora, Kairi and Bryan buzzed off in a panic, afraid of what might happen if their evening sneakery was discovered. They had to fly off as quickly as they could in the other direction of where Rachel and Riku were heading so not to be seen. They went back to the ship as quickly as they could and waited until their friends joined them. When they did, Rachel had offered to make something for them at breakfast. Thankfully their snoopery aroused any suspicions. The three of them spent the rest of the night casting each other nasty glances for the others not to look so obvious that they were hiding something.

Bryan made an ushering gesture to the door that led down below. Opening the door was like getting blitz-attacked through the nose. Something was going on in the galley that smelled like melted butter drizzled over a slice of heaven. Down below, Rachel was in the process of finishing up a complete pancake breakfast. Sora felt his jaw drop. Bryan hadn't been kidding. When she put her mind to a project she didn't skimp the details. Not only was galley really cool but everything conceivably possible for pancakes had been set out somewhere.

Rachel stood in the middle over a stove-like grill top thing. It was like a big griddle on top of a stone cylinder. By the look of it the griddle could come off to be replaced with whatever made dinner the best. She had a huge bowl and was pouring the last of the batter on the hot surface. The batter spread in a circle the size of a dinner plate. She said come hungry and with good reason.

That morning their story started from the beginning. Rachel and Bryan picked up their story from when they found their Keyblade and begun training with Merlin and Master Yen Sid. They told the story of Neverland in detail, beginning to end. But as hard as they tried no one could keep the story linear. When the story got to where Wendy had been captured Sora couldn't help but cut in. That must have been how Peter, Wendy and Tinker Bell ended up trapped on Captain Hook's pirate ship before Hook realized Wendy was not one of the Princesses of Heart.

Same happened when they came back to The Big Top and The Great Forest only to find out they'd been too late. The confidence and strength Rachel and Bryan had helped Dumbo and Bambi find within themselves made their hearts strong to survive the fall of their world. Sora told them about the summon gems and how the flying elephant and fawn had aided him in battle from time to time. Sora picked up the story with his own, all the while making connections where Rachel and Bryan must have been to his own journey.

The story closed at the chapter where Ansem had been defeated, the worlds regained their hearts and all went back to the way it was. Which, coincidentally, had perfect timing since all the pancakes were gone at about the same time. Everyone had been nibbling as they told their adventures in detail. Only a few biscuits, sliced apples, three sausage links and a quarter pitcher of juice remained. And that was saying something. Those pancakes were thick and about the size of frisbees. Then again, five hungry teenagers, three of them boys, maybe it wasn't such a mystery.

"I may not need to eat tomorrow." Riku said, looking at the remaining sausage then deciding against it.

"If our rowboats are still floating by the time we leave, we'll probably be able to weigh them down no problem." Sora said jokingly, leaning back in a chair with a hand over his very satisfied stomach.

"Santa's bag if full." Rachel agreed, stretching back and making a similar motion.

"Funny you should say that. I've met him."

"Who?" Rachel asked.

"Santa."

"Funny." Bryan said.

"No really! I've been to Santa's workshop! I helped save Christmas!"

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"No joke?"

"No joke."

"Dude, do you have any idea how much cooler you just got?"

Everyone chuckled. It had been a very satisfying morning. Kairi hadn't even had a chance to hear all the details of Sora and Riku's adventures since they got back. And the saga wasn't even over yet. But they would have time. No doubt it wouldn't take more than a few long days to hear every detail of everyone's story. There would be repeats of course. The first day they talked a little about everything with no real direction to their tale.

"Would you like us to help clean up?" Kairi offered. "You did everything else, it's only fair."

"Nah, it's cool." Rachel said. She looked over her shoulder and waved her hand. "Water, on."

A clunk of the sink stopper preceded the faucet twisting by itself and cascaded water into the sink. Next a jar of soap tipped over, pouring in a generous amount. It righted itself and the water turned off.

"One ana' two ana' three."

With another wave of her hand all the plates and silverware stacked themselves on the counter and created an orderly line to the sink where the scrubbies came to life and started cleaning.

"Merlin showed me how to do that. I'll never get dishpan hands again in my life."

"Whada'ya say we go up top?" Bryan suggested. "We could go flying again, burn off breakfast."

"I want to see the rest of the ship first." Riku said.

"You would have if you stuck with us last night." Kairi teased.

"I can give him the tour if you guys want to get right to flying." Rachel said.

Kairi slipped Sora a knowing smile which he returned.


	16. Day 4: Tour and Popsicles

"This area would have been the sailors' quarters. See all the posts and pegs? That's where they would have hung up their hammocks. As far as we can tell, these sleeping quarters were kept pretty cramped."

"Why?"

"Best we can figure, so there would be more room to store treasure. This was a pirate ship after all. And Captain Flint was the greediest of them all."

Riku looked around the big room. He'd seen something similar when he was on Captain Hook's ship. This ship however was very cozy. The armory was empty. All weapons and such had been removed. A simple carpet had been laid in all the rooms except the galley and the upper decks. The floor he could see beneath the carpets looked like polished marble but felt like wood. Actually, most everything did. Some parts of the rooms looked like polished wood but everything else looked like stone. It was like being in a very fancy villa made of marble. The portholes had shiny copper fittings and the glass was perfectly clean.

Two wide hammocks were hung up, cozy, lounging ones. The threads were thick and like a soft cotton. A bookshelf had been bolted to the wall with glass doors that locked it shut. Wise move if they traveled a lot. Everything big had been bolted to the floor or walls. Various pictures and paintings lined the walls in frames of the same copper and design as the portholes. Apart from the upper decks, the ship looked more like a furnished house. A little bare in places but livable all the same. Made sense. Rachel did say that first day the ship was where they stayed off-world. Might as well make it homey. If this was what the less lived-in areas looked like, Riku was curious to see how they'd done up their sleeping quarters.

Across the room appeared to be a gaming area. Hanging on the wall, a large dartboard. Off to the side, a pool table. Not far away, a round table covered with a fine green felt. On the other side of the room, a ping pong table. On the wall across from the table, a complete drum set. All the framework of the pool table, card table and structure of the drums was the same polished wood.

"What's all this?" Riku asked. He opened up a nicely stained and intricately carved cupboard a few feet away from the dartboard. Inside the darts were neatly lined up on the shelf. The triangle and chalk for the pool table was also there.

"Bryan's idea." Rachel said. "This is all his."

"He's got his own gaming room?"

"I draw, read and write to unwind. He's got his toys and his music. A lot of those paintings on the wall I did myself."

Riku examined the nearest one. It was an abstract with twists of brown at the bottom that turned into swirls of green with pretty dark purple swirlies on top of the green. After he saw the title "Iris Patch" could he really see the flowers. The one next to it was significantly larger. It featured the silhouette of a howling wolf on a cliff with the clear blue sky and full moon glowing behind it. It was entitled "Bloodline Deceiver". Didn't make any sense to him but it didn't need to. He would have complimented her creativity but she continued talking.

"You know, Bryan may not show it or would ask himself, but if you were to casually suggest a guy's night with food, drink and trying to slaughter each other at the pool table he'd be over the moon."

"I'll keep that in mind." That actually sounded like a lot of fun. The last time he had a full-blown guys night was a year before his home lost its heart. He, Sora, Tidus and Wakka spent the afternoon playing blitz ball and the evening listening to music and eating junk food. Good times. But that had been a child's game. It would be fun to do the same thing and see how it changed now he was more of an adult and with new friends.

Rachel didn't show him their living quarters but that was understandable. He wouldn't necessarily show anyone his room on the first tour of his home. He brought on conversation whenever he could, but he just couldn't find the right place to bring up something deeper than complimenting their taste in interior decorating.

And like an idiot, he realized too late she had also been trying initiate better conversation. After their moment last night he hoped to not be so unsure about how to talk to her. She seemed to be having the same problem. Could that mean they both were beginning to really _like_ each other? Could the awkwardness and lack of personal conversation mean they were both unsure of how the other felt and were avoiding bringing up something that may not be there? That would make sense. It would be just flat out embarrassing to tell a girl you had a thing for her only to find out she just thought you were nice but had no feelings to return. Did she like him but thought he didn't like her? Had she been fishing for an answer the same way he had? And how could he possibly know so little about how to read girls?

After the tour she gave him another sprinkle of pixie dust and they flew off the ship to meet Sora and the others. Riku would have liked to have spent more time alone with her. But now his resolve to find out once and for all how they felt about each other was stronger than ever.

* * *

The next few hours commenced much like the day before. They raced. They floated. They talked in mid-air. They sat in trees that would have been impossible to climb otherwise.

Kairi waved Sora and Riku in closer. Everyone was floating casually over a cluster of palm trees on the beach where Sora and Riku ran their obstacle course years ago.

"What is it, Kairi?" Riku asked.

"I've got an idea. What if we show Rachel and Bryan the Secret Place? I think they'd like that."

"I like that idea." Sora said. "Hey!" He called to the Masters. "Want to see something cool?"

Sora led the group through the tunnel that brought them out above the waterfall next to the Secret Place. No one touched foot on the ground as they went through the tunnel. Same when they went through the tunnel to the Secret Place. There was something fun about flying so close to the ground you could touch it. Even when they reached the cave no one touched down. Sora, Riku and Kairi floated back to back in the center of the room, looking around. It felt like being inside a bubble of magic and memories.

Rachel brushed her fingertips along one of the drawings with the delicacy of touching a robin's egg. "Who did all these?"

"We did." Kairi said.

"All the kids that come to this island and find the Secret Place leave a drawing or two." Sora told them. "It's sort've a tradition."

"I remember coming in here for the first time and there were drawings already there." Riku said.

The orange evening sunlight filtering down from the hole in the ceiling made the blueish-gray rocks look strange in their glow. Like a strange floating caterpillar the group filed out of the Secret Place one after another. Kairi held on to Sora's shoe and let him pull her along. The pixie dust given to Sora, Riku and Kairi started to wear off. Bryan flew back to King and retrieved their boats, pulling them along by the ropes used to tie them up. When he came back, Kairi got her cooler from the boat. It still had bits of frost sliding off the sides.

"Whatcha got there?" Rachel asked.

"Thanks if it's a sandwich but I'm still not hungry." Bryan said.

Sora and Riku agreed. Sora for one agreed with Riku's earlier comment about maybe not having to eat again until the next day.

"I'm pretty sure we'll have room for this." Kairi said smiling. She opened her cooler and looked inside. "Oh good, they didn't melt." She tilted the cooler so her friends could see inside. She'd brought popsicles!

"I'm always game for dessert." Bryan said.

"Don't I know it." Rachel muttered.

Above the beach the friends sat on the balcony of the wooden treehouse. The treehouse was empty and probably had been for years. Probably the last thing left in that house had been a large sheet that had been removed to serve as the sail of a little raft. The group stuck their legs through the railing and faced the setting sun. Kairi passed out the popsicles. Riku, at the far right got green apple, Sora to his left got strawberry. Bryan, on the far left got grape, Rachel on his right took an orange and Kairi kept the raspberry for herself. They sat quietly for a while enjoying the treat, the sunset and the company and occasionally sticking out their tongues to one another to see how badly they'd been stained.

Sora, as his friends were thinking but didn't comment on was unusually quiet. He was too deeply lost in his own thoughts. This scenario, for some reason, felt oddly familiar and soothing but he wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he'd never sat calmly to have a bite with his friends before. But as he sat there, the familiarity refused to go away. It was as if it was pushing hard against his mind, begging to be remembered. Was it sitting with friends? Was it watching the sunset? Was it eating popsicles? Maybe all three or a combination thereof? Something made him think it was. Riku on one side. Kairi on the other. His two best friends eating popsicles and watching the sunset with him.

It was like that irritating feeling when one hears a song they can't think of the name of. It's like your mind can see the name but your brain can't comprehend what's right in front of it. But as frustrating as the not remembering was, the familiarity was comforting.

Sora sucked gently on the bare popsicle stick, getting every last drop of juice he could. Everyone else was about done with theirs too. Sora absentmindedly twiddled it between his fingers. He liked this feeling. His best friends, his new friends and the conclusion to another great day. As he fiddled the stick around the key bearer noticed something. One side of his popsicle stick had a series of little stars painted on it. Must have been one of those things where you can get a free sweet if you find the winning stick. Cool. But he felt strange about the find. Getting the prize was always fun. No doubt about it. But he wasn't just excited, he was elated. Like the core of his heart was fluttering with euphoria. How he managed to keep this sudden surge of joy contained was a mystery. He didn't understand it at all. Being the winner was great but he had no idea why he was so excited about it. It was as if he was feeling someone else's delight.

He considered saying something but decided against it. How could he describe a feeling to anyone when he didn't even know what it was or where to begin so he would make sense? Sora decided to keep it to himself for now. Maybe he would tell them when or if he ever understood it.

The colors of the evening began to fade into lavenders and blues. That was a good enough sign for all of them that they'd best be getting home and to bed.


	17. The Fifth Day

The fifth day proceeded much like the days before it. The friends met early to fly, swim and talk. They laughed. They joked. They swapped battle stories. The epic of their adventures was coming along nicely. Come lunchtime they returned to the ship and Rachel made lunch. Afterward Riku subtlety inquired about having a few hours of guy-time in Bryan's game room. Bryan didn't show his enthusiasm the way his sister did but Riku could see Rachel had been right; he was happy with the suggestion and more than willing to make it happen.

Rachel had no interest in darts or poker games so she dismissed herself to practice her magic. Kairi was also more interested in seeing more pretty magic than listening to three teenage boys taunt and call each other's bluffs at cards.

And that is exactly what they did. Bryan had a jar of small coins, polished stones, large seeds, buttons and tiny shells they could use instead of chips. All three of them knew how to play, just not very well. After a while they made up their own rules, made ridiculous bets and talked more than played. Ping pong was certainly interesting, as all three players had great reaction time and phenomenal hand-eye coordination skills. The odd-man out would play winner for a few rounds, that is, _when_ the round eventually ended. Then Bryan showed them how to play Ultimate Ping Pong. _That_ was a whole new level of challenge. Before all the rounds were over, two ping pong balls were put into permanent retirement after their sides had been smashed in. One had been crushed like it had been stepped on after it hit a wall. It was a good thing there were no vases or nearby paintings because Sora and Bryan spent a round smashing. Riku had to duck once when a slip-up sent the ball rocketing in the wrong direction.

Darts came next. After Ultimate Ping Pong they needed something to catch their breath and moved on to pool when that stopped being fun. Sora tried to knock Riku off-kilter when it was his turn for a shot by poking fun at his 'secret crush' on Rachel.

"I'll bet Rachel's not even practicing magic right now." He said. "I'll bet she and Kairi are talking about you."

"You're not going to distract me." Riku said flatly as he took the shot. The cue ball clicked against three other balls before rolling to a stop. A solid slipped into the hole so he went again.

"So have you told her you like her yet?" Sora continued. True or not, he wasn't going to pass up the chance to tease his friend about being _in love_. Although he did have his suspicions from what he, Bryan and Kairi had heard the other night. "Oh and Bryan, what do you think about this development?"

"Who's to say there even _**is**_ a development?" Riku defended. Riku still didn't know about the sneakery of his friends. Although he knew it was a lost cause. He was certain that he was in fact developing feelings for Rachel. Soon he wouldn't be able to deny anything without lying. He also hadn't thought about what Bryan might think of…that's right. He'd be dating his new friends sister **if** a relationship were to blossom. Up until yesterday he wouldn't have given it a thought. But now there were new stirrings to pursue Rachel's affections (not the faintest idea of how to pursue them but stirrings to do so all the same). Now he wanted to talk to her more than ever to find out once and for all if she had any feelings for him and confirm if his feelings for her were also genuine.

He looked at Bryan after Sora's comment before taking his shot. Bryan only looked neutral as he chalked his poolstick and shrugged. But that didn't tell him much. Did he really not care? A shrug wasn't really an answer.

After the pool game Sora and Riku went back to darts and Bryan got on his drums, tapping out a gentle jazzy rhythm. Sora still tried to heckle Riku whenever it was his turn.

"Has she said if she likes you yet?"

"Sora, I'm about to throw something with a sharp end, now is not the time to try and distract me."

They only played two rounds before resorting to lounging and listening to Bryan play. Man, those hammocks were really comfortable. Between the music and the comfort it would have been really easy to just fall asleep. They didn't know how long they'd just sat there listening but after a while Riku dismissed himself to see what the girls were doing and if they wanted to join in on a card game or something.

When he left, Sora repeated his question about whether or not Bryan had any issue with Riku dating his sister.

"I don't know." Bryan answered. "I mean, it would be great for Rachel to have a close relationship with someone other than me. Yeah, she's got friends but no one she sees often enough to share the things she wouldn't want to talk about with me. Ok, I lie. She does go to Arendelle a lot. The queen and her sister have pretty much adopted her. Don't get me wrong, I mean, we make a great team and all, but sometimes I think we see each other too much. The idea of her being involved with anyone just seems too foreign to even wrap my head around. And please, don't get me wrong, Riku's great. I've only known him a few days and I see no reason not to like him. What's more, I can sense Riku has been battling the darkness. Knowing Rachel, she'll want to stay close and help him fix it."

"Think she can really help him fix things?"

"She'll certainly try."

"You could sense Riku has had past run-ins with the darkness?"

"Well I couldn't recite the whole story but I can sense a vague gist."

"Yeah. I know it still bothers him but I'm not sure sometimes how I can help. Riku knows that no matter what happens, anything at all, he'll always have me and Kairi to turn to. That never changed, even when things got tough. I don't hold it against him and neither does she. But I wonder if an unattatched third party would be best to help his heart heal."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I don't want to say too much because it really isn't for me to say. But some of the things Riku did after accepting Darkness directly involved me and Kairi. And they weren't pretty. I swear I've told him I've forgiven him a hundred times. But let me tell you, if I had a gummi block for every questioning look I've gotten, I swear I could build a galactic fleet!"

"He doesn't believe you?"

"I don't think so, at least not completely."

"Why not?"

"Well, I think…I think maybe it's because he hasn't fully forgiven himself. I think if he had, it would be easy to believe someone else could."

"Oh yeah, Rachel will stick close to help. She'd be good at that."

"Strong maternal-healing-helper side?"

"She's worse than a mother hen. To be honest, don't tell her I said this, but if we hadn't found our Keyblade, I think she would have made a pretty good therapist."

"So you're leaning toward having no problem with Riku and Rachel?"

"Kiiiiinda." Bryan said slowly. "Like I said, it's still weird to me thinking of my sister as someone's girlfriend. Between what I know of Rachel and what I've learned about Riku I shouldn't have a problem. Yet…"

"Yet what?"

"Yet the defensive brother part of me wants to beat anyone within an inch of their life who tries to touch her."

"You know Riku wouldn't do anything…bad, right? He's not like that at all."

"I believe you, and I guess I didn't really mean _that kind_ of 'touch', but I still feel that way."

A few minutes later Kairi came down the stairs by herself.

"Are you alone?" Sora asked, looking up the stairs after her the best he could and waiting for the others to come in behind her.

Kairi smiled and skipped across the room with her hands behind her back. No one followed hear and they couldn't hear footsteps coming across the deck above. She sat at the card table and absentmindedly shuffled the deck. She was still smiling like she knew a secret.

"Whaaat?" Bryan and Sora asked slowly in unison.

Kairi continued shuffling the deck and hummed happily.

"What do you know?" Bryan asked.

The princess giggled and fiddled with the cards again. At first they thought Kairi wasn't going to answer. Her expression screamed 'I know something you don't know!' and did a little wiggle dance in her seat.

"I think today is going to be the day those two will click."

It took Sora and Bryan a second to register what she said and what it meant.

"Riku and Rachel?" Sora said.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Ok! Spill! What did you see or what did they say?" Sora said.

Kairi giggled. "I just have a good feeling. I saw Riku coming over to us on the balcony so I left. That way they could be alone. It was just a look she had and the way Riku was walking toward us. I'm not sure what it was but I could see _something_. I really think today is the day the two of them will make a break. Better or for worse, I just know it."

Sora and Bryan looked at each other.

"Should we sneak around again?"

"No!" Kairi said. "I have a good feeling something special can happen if we leave them alone."

"Suppose you're right." Sora agreed.

"C'mon guys," Bryan got up from his drum set and sat down at the card table. "I'll show you how to play Euchre."


	18. Day 5: Alone Time

Riku found Rachel in a semi-meditative like trance while focusing on making several colorful lights dance around her in all directions without colliding. If she heard Riku approach and Kairi leave she gave no indication. Kairi had seen him coming and scuffled off before he even got close. Why did she have to be so attentive? Oh how she was going to tease him come tomorrow. He just knew it. Kairi suspected something going on from the beginning and had been just as bad a tease as Sora. She must have assumed he cut the guy time short to see Rachel. He couldn't even cut her off to tell her he just wanted to ask if they wanted to join them for cards or something before she used the rest of the mornings' pixie dust to sail back to the ship. Oh well. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

Rachel had chosen to practice her magic on the balcony where they had eaten popsicles the other night. Riku cleared his throat. One by one the little lights went out and Rachel opened her eyes.

"You didn't have to stop. Those were really nice."

"Thank you. Just one of the more minor exercises. Making magic lights move really isn't that hard."

"How long have you been practicing magic?"

"Magic's been a favorite of mine since I started apprenticing under Master Yen Sid. Even from the beginning I excelled at it better than Bryan. I like it and I'm good at it."

"I've never used magic much." He admitted. He'd always been more of a brute force and quick skills sort of fighter.

"Shame. It's fun and useful."

 _Ok, you're alone so now what? What are you going to say? You won't be able to work out if she likes you if you keep talking about her._ The little voice hissed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"This may be a really out-there question, but," _This is seriously what you're going to open with_? "As a defender of the Light, how do you feel about Darkness?"

 _Stupid!Stupid!Stupid!Stupid!Stupid!_

The little voice was chewing him out something fierce with all sorts of phrases and words you would never say in front of your mother. But he still needed to know. If come to find out they had a mutual thing for each other, he needed to know for certain that she wouldn't be disgusted or turn away because of the darkness he knew still resided within him. She didn't seem to have an issue with his story the other day but that wasn't the way the conversation had been going then either. She smiled a lot and had always acted warmly toward him. But was this because that was just the way she was or was she putting in special effort to be nice so he would like her?

"Without shadows, how then can we know just how bright the light can shine?"

Riku looked at her, almost in shock. It was such a simple answer yet had so much wisdom. So much understanding.

"How do you feel about the people who use it?"

Rachel sat down on the balcony, hanging her legs over the side. "Depends on what it's used for."

"What?"

"If somebody uses the power of Darkness to hurt anyone else, then of course I take issue with it. But Darkness is just one weapon. People know all sorts of ways to hurt and ruin each other, that's what I fight to put an end to. It doesn't matter if the means is Darkness, blades, magic, you name it. But I don't see how just using ones' natural darkness as a tool is a big deal."

Incredible. Was she serious? How was it possible for anyone to be that understanding? What all had she seen or done to result in that kind of thinking? The other day he thought he could sense the warm light in her heart. If that was true, could that be part of why the few sentences she'd just said sounded so wise? Another thing that struck him, she didn't ask why he asked such a question. Riku sat down next to her.

"To be honest, I was a bit surprised that when I told you I had once given into the Darkness you didn't even blink. You made no comment at all."

Ok, moment of truth. This is what he'd been leading up to. She kinda half-answered the question already, he _had_ used Darkness to hurt others and she just admitted to condemning it. He had a hard time believing Rachel really was okay with it. Riku had wondered if she slid passed the topic the other night because she didn't feel comfortable talking about it. Of course, after wondering that he got quite a scolding from that little voice that had been previously badgering him about his pathetic openers. It had told him off that if he'd scared her off with that information, the conversation wouldn't have continued or gone on as comfortably as it did.

"I was more focused on the part that came after."

Was she even physically capable of saying things that wouldn't surprise him? Thankfully she understood his silence not as an indication the conversation was over but an opening to continue.

"In the same breath after admitting to giving in to the temptations of Darkness, you said how hard and how long you'd been trying to make up for it. You were brave enough to recognize what you did and decided to do something about it. How is it my place, or anybody else's to put a triple-A sized divot in someone else's path of atonement? The world of Yesterday can be a twisted black wilderness of things that screech and roar into the night. But listening to the howls of choices you can't take back only paralyze the choices you make tomorrow. From what you said, you can still hear them but they're not stopping you from moving forward. Nowhere on any world do monsters exist that are so hard to defeat than ones' own demons."

Riku wasn't sure he could feel more stunned with bewilderment if someone had slapped him in the face with a dead fish. He wasn't sure what to say so he didn't say anything. They sat on the wooden balcony looking out over the water for a time. Sora and the others were still on the ship. Now here's hoping they stayed there.


	19. Day 5: The Light in my Heart

It was nice to get some time alone with her. It would give him a chance to sort out if his affections toward her were genuine or if she was just a good friend. But he still kicked himself that he didn't seem to be saying or asking the right things to close the gap between them. A few days wasn't really a lot of time to have more than an interest or crush on someone, but Riku was beginning to think it may in fact be something more. She had certainly given him a lot to think about. The way she answered his questions certainly said a lot about her character. And he liked what he was seeing. He guessed she must be feeling something too. If not, surely she would have said something as not to lead him on. But there was something weighing on his mind that he knew wouldn't go away. A question he needed answered and had to be asked to someone he trusted to give an honest answer. And judging by the answers she'd just given him, he really felt he could trust her.

"Rachel," Riku finally said.

"Yeah?"

"Being a Master gives you certain powers, right?"

"Yes. Why? Planning on taking the Mark of Mastery soon?"

"Well, maybe. But I wanted to ask you something." Riku exhaled deeply. Why was this such an uncomfortable question? At least they could still speak comfortably after the deep conversation they had a few minutes ago. "Can you see what someone's heart looks like? I mean really see, not just _sense_ if a heart is full of light or darkness."

"Funny you should ask because actually I can. It's a very specific magic but yes, I can see exactly what the figurative heart looks like. Why?"

From the look on her face Riku was pretty sure she already knew why. Sora or Kairi must have said something. Or maybe she had already looked at his heart and figured it out. No, she wouldn't do that without asking.

"I want to know exactly what the darkness in my heart looks like."

For a moment Riku was sure she would say no.

"Are you sure?" She eventually asked. "I can tell by barely looking at you your heart is stronger than what you think. You really don't-."

"I want to know." Riku cut her off. "It's important for me to know. I have been twisted around so much by so many people for so long I need to have more than just blind faith my heart isn't as defiled as I've been told it is."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding with consent. Rachel turned to face him and got up on her knees. Riku did the same.

"Na-ah." Rachel shook her head. She put her hand flat on his head and pushed him down.

Riku chuckled but complied. But even sitting back, hands on his knees Rachel really didn't have much of a height advantage. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just don't move." Rachel said. "You shouldn't feel a thing. I'm just looking."

"Have you done this before?"

"Once. To Bryan."

"And he didn't tell you if he felt anything."

"Unless it hurt he doesn't tell me anything."

"But he's your brother."

"That's precisely why he doesn't tell me anything. Ready?"

Rachel placed her hands lightly on either side of his face. The heat transfer felt soothing for some reason. Everything about her seemed innately kind, even a casual touch (sharp contrast to how she fought).

Rachel closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply but gently through her nose then exhaled slowly and deliberately through her mouth. Her body language had completely relaxed. Then she opened her eyes and looked deeply into his. Riku twitched a little in surprise. Her eyes had taken on a strange, surreal glaze. The muscles of her face had completely relaxed, quite contrary to the intensity of her stare. She never moved. It was a little spooky that someone could be that still.

Only her eyes moved. After a moment of intense gazing (Riku wasn't sure if he was allowed to blink) her eyes started twitching about, like she were trying to follow a disoriented fly. Riku rubbed his palms flat on his pants. His hands started getting a bit clammy at the thought of what she might be seeing. How long was this supposed to take? He started to feel awkward under that stare. But just as Riku began to worry this might be a while Rachel blinked. Her eyes went back into focus and her body relaxed. She sat back on the balcony. Riku got more comfortable as well.

"So?" He asked when she didn't say anything. Riku tried to read her face for what she might be thinking. Did she see more darkness than she thought? Was she afraid of him now? Was she afraid for him? Was it not as bad as he feared? Worse than he feared?

"It's not as bad as you make it out to be." She said finally. "But I can see why you want help."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I can kinda sorta see places where the darkness isn't yours. But the darkness that is your own, if you want to lessen that, it shouldn't be too hard so long as you're willing."

"Of course I'm willing. I've been willing since the second after I realized Ansem had tricked me." It still hurt to admit just how far astray he'd gone and what it had resulted in. He felt embarrassed, shamed and angry when he realized that from the moment he'd met Malificent and Ansem they'd been grooming him to be Ansem's vessel so he could take physical form. He'd been twisted and used, fed lies so he felt the decisions he made were his own, when in truth he had been little more than a dog pulled around by its master, but the leash had been long enough to cast the illusion of free thinking and free will. "Show me. Show me what my heart looks like. Light. Darkness. Everything. You've seen what it looks like so you could conjure an image of it, right? Like with those lights you summoned a minute ago."

"Well," She answered with unsure thoughtfulness. "Yeah. I could but are you sure you want to see? I mean, from what I saw you are nowhere near beyond help but the reality might-."

"I want to see." Riku said firmly.

She looked at him calmly for a few seconds then cast the magic. Rachel rubbed the fingers of her right hand against her thumb. As she did, light twinkled from the points of contact then with a dramatic twist of her wrist she laid her palm open flat. An orb of yellow light shone brightly in her hand. After a few seconds the shapeless light began to take form until it was a three-dimensional crystalline heart. It glowed radiantly. A drop of blackness appeared above it and began to fall. It spread like a drop of ink in water but moved on its own accord. The lines twisted and swayed and formed a web-like, egg-shaped cage around the heart. It looked like a web from a spider that couldn't make up its mind. Some of the spaces and gaps were small and close together, others were pretty big.

"The figurative heart looks something like this."

Riku stared at the image in her hand. So this is what his heart looked like. He was greatly relieved it wasn't as bad as he thought. Rachel pointed out the lines of black that she said were the darkness he'd let in. Those lines were rougher, thicker and more twisted than the ones she said were naturally apart of his heart. He still didn't like looking at either. At the top of the heart, all the black lines converged into a single line that attached to it like tree roots growing on the side of a rock. He inquired about it.

"That's the line of darkness every heart has. That's where the darkness grows from. It might look bad, but you're actually pretty lucky."

" _Lucky_? How is all _that_ lucky?"

"The black lines only form a cage around the outside, and it's full of big holes. Be proud. It says a lot about you. The lines _could_ have burrowed inward. I don't know what all you were a part of, but this," She made a vague gesture around the entire heart. "This tells me no matter what Darkness you used, gave in to or were touched by, your core remained full of light."

This was getting a lot more personal than he thought it would. Already she knew more about him than he ever intended to let her know. Yes, he was beginning to like her but he still had only known her for a few days. Part of him was relieved but sad. There would still be a battle ahead to either bury those lines or melt them away. But he was glad for what she said. He'd been afraid his heart had been stained deeply for the choices he'd made.

"And in case you're wondering," Rachel said before he could say anything. "This is supposed to be there." Another bright ball of light appeared in her other hand. She held it up to the glowing heart. The light cast a net of pale shadows on the heart from the black threads that surrounded it. Riku felt a knot in his stomach but Rachel put his fears to rest quickly. "This is the way it should be. Shadows are meant to exist. A shadow is only harmful if you let it. Otherwise it can cover and appear threatening but is only there to balance ones' Light. Think of these," She indicated to the pale shadows his own darkness cast back onto the heart, "Not as an infection, but as a reminder. Some of the darkness can be broken away, others you have to come to grips with because no heart is completely devoid of darkness. It needs to be. There cannot be light without shadows. But,"

Rachel stood up and walked inside the treehouse, the shining heart still in her hand. She held it up, and with another motion of her left hand, the heart began to glow brightly. It shone against the walls of the treehouse. The light against the walls was beautiful. But there was no sign to suggest the source of the light was surrounded by darkness. The lines were too thin and the light was too bright. They still existed, but when the light within shone outward, it overpowered the darkness, appearing as though there were none at all.

"To those you shine your loyalty and compassion on, they will know your darkness exists but never see it and it will never touch them."

The proper word for what Riku was feeling wasn't easy to find. 'Stunned' would probably come close. He wasn't sure how to respond. No one had ever explained it to him like that before. Dang he liked the way she talked. It made the burden of worry feel considerably lighter. He wanted to say something to her but the only thing that came out was, "What does your heart look like?"

Riku immediately recognized it was a personal question but before he could retract it, she made another motion to the heart and it changed. The light dimmed and went from a yellow to white. The net of darkness faded and a new shape appeared. A single cord of black anchored itself to the side of the heart and stretched into a wide spiral around the whole thing. The line was thicker than any of the lines of his darkness had been, but it was just the one. There were no flaws or smudges of darkness on the heart itself either.

"How do you keep your heart so pure?" Again the question just kinda slipped out. He wanted to know but at the same time surprised himself. Usually he had a lot more restraint over topics that were obviously personal to not sound like a nosy busy-body.

She didn't look opposed to answering but her expression clearly said she was having a hard time lining up the right words. "Um…I guess personality is a factor. I don't think there's a way to explain or justify why somebody is trusting, loving, kind or compassionate. I've always liked doing things for others. I've always had friends, chief among them my brother. Bryan obviously doesn't need a babysitter but I like the feeling of having someone to look out for. I can't tell you how many nights I've lain awake terrifying myself with the thoughts of I'd do if anything happened to him.

"And…once in a while, I have a nice cry. I find a quiet spot to bawl to the point of exhaustion, giving every tear for every moment of fear, stress and anxiety its time. A tear for everyone I've ever seen hurting." She paused. "I guess… it's partly because compassion and sympathy is a heavy burden. I guess I'm afraid that if I don't let it out once and a while, the burden will become too much and crush me. And I'm afraid if that were to happen, my heart might harden just enough so it doesn't have to feel that kind of pain again. Then a little more and a little more every time the burden gets to be too much. That frightens me the most…not to feel. Pain sucks but it could give you the strength to heal someone elses pain, then it helps make your own pain go away…knowing that someone is happy because of something you did."

Rachel was quiet for a moment. They just stood there in the treehouse, looking out over the water. Riku didn't say anything, not sure if she was finished or just pausing to collect her thoughts. But what he didn't expect was what she said next.

"Have you ever cried? I mean, to vent. I know it's not typically a guy thing but since we're on the subject."

"Eh…no. No, I haven't. That kind of thing…it's not really my thing."

"Nothing wrong with it either way. It's not a sign of weakness or anything, especially nothing to be ashamed of."

Riku wasn't sure the best way to respond. He hadn't given it a lot of thought before. But he couldn't say that without risking sounding sexist. Riku ran through ways to reply with that didn't sound he thought crying to vent was useful only to girls and didn't apply to him because he was a guy. He didn't mean it like that at all. Yes, _he_ never thought much of it. But that was him. His entire life he'd been competitive, strong and a fighter. Crying every time you got a skinned up knee typically got you teased so he never did it. He was always one of the kids classmates and friends universally recognized as tough, above such things as crying and getting emotional and was admired for it. But even without him saying anything, Rachel had just the right response. She had to have sensed the direction of his thoughts.

"Picture this: A tree in the middle of winter. A long branch is heavy-laden with snow. The snow is so heavy the branch breaks. The question is, why did it break? Some might say it was because it was weak. If it were strong it could support the weight. Others might say it was weak because it didn't have the strength to know it should bend. If the branch were to bend, the snow would slide right off and it would be free of its burden. So what kind of 'strong' are you? If you don't bend, you'll break."

Once again she managed to hit the nail on the head.

"I…I guess I never really thought about it like that."

"I can get that."

"So it works for you?"

"Tears are the body's way of cleansing. And contrary to the way most guys are raised to believe, it's not unmanly. In my mind, it's actually a sign of strength. The good kind. What's that look for?"

Riku surprised himself that he was even considering it. It must have shown. And shocked himself even more when he caught himself asking, "Do to think it works for everyone?" Implying himself.

"I don't see why not. Crying relieves tension. Oh, how did that quote go? 'Tears are not a sign of weakness, but rather of strength. They are the sacred messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love.' I can leave if you want to try it." She offered quickly.

The direction of his thoughts must have shown more than he realized. The idea seemed to have its merit, but Riku was still reluctant to it. Just because he was supposed to be the tough guy? Stigmas that men don't cry? Yet with her…it was certainly an odd feeling to be comfortable with a person and stiff with awkwardness at the same time.

Riku gently brushed the back of his hand against hers. "I think," He could feel the muscles of his throat involuntarily clench shut. "I think it's time I told someone my whole story.

Once he began, Riku wasn't sure how he had managed to survive so long with the weight crushing him. The things he'd done. The things he'd done to his friends. The things he had been _willing_ to do to his friends. How could he have been such the fool to let Malificent use and manipulate him like that? At first he didn't trust her, but she promised to help him help Kairi, and that was all that was important to him. Later, it wasn't about trust, just the power. He was so focused on getting the girl he cared about back safe and sound. Part of him now knew it was because he wanted to play the hero. Surely Kairi would have seen him in a revealing light if he was her savior, not Sora.

Looking back, thinking about what had happened…thinking back was the most terrifying part. How could he have ever believed her when Malificent said he was just an insignificant speck in Sora's life? He saw Sora with his new friends and believed her words to be true that he had in fact been replaced. Thrown away. Forgotten. And that fueled so much. But how could he have believed her? How could he have been so bitter to allow himself to think that his innocent, lifelong friend didn't care anymore? The Keyblade had chosen Sora when it had been meant for him. Then the bitterness had begun to simmer. Then as his dark powers grew, Riku finally felt he had an edge that Sora never had and could never possibly match, let alone overcome. He was finally better than Sora in every conceivable way. But it was what he'd been willing to do that still gave him cold sweats. At the entrance hall to the castle…if Goofy hadn't jumped in to block the dark energy he'd blasted at Sora…Sora had been unarmed, he knew that but he attacked anyway. That dark energy could have seriously hurt Sora…or worse.

What if the worst had happened? How long would it have taken him before he woke up to the reality of what he had done to his best friend? How would he have been able to live with himself when that happened? What would Kairi have thought? If Kairi had gotten her heart back, and learned the truth…she wouldn't have been grateful. She would have been horrified. He wouldn't have been her savior as he envisioned himself. He would have been the one that had broken their trio.

Riku wasn't even aware when the first tear fell. He'd felt the weight of everything he'd been holding back as he told her everything. He hadn't even been aware of just how high the wall he'd built actually was. But the more he talked, the more the dam began to crumble…until at last it broke.

The downslide was rapid. He was aware he was talking. He was aware the tears were falling. And yet he wasn't. There must have been fifty shed for every moment of despair, no matter what caused it. Every moment of fear, confusion, doubt, worry and concern. Every time he felt helpless, every time a situation felt hopeless, every time the rage threatened to burn out of control. A hundred tears for every emotion he could never show because he had to be 'stronger than that'.

He told Rachel everything. He held nothing back. Beginning with his bitterness from being stuck on a small island with a deep longing to find a way to escape. Then falling in with Malificent and the other villains on their quest to open Kingdom Hearts. His terror when Ansem possessed him. His impulsive choices. The betrayals. The fear. Everything everyone in Castle Oblivion had said to him, insisting he was weak for fearing the Darkness and a fool for not giving into his true destiny. Riku barely recognized his own voice. Occasionally he felt himself choke as the emotions overwhelmed him but there was still more that had to be said. The fears. The doubts. The times he wondered if the followers of darkness had been right about his heart. Then hating himself for letting himself think that even for a second. He swore never to give in to the Darkness again. He swore never stop fighting to repent for all his sins but still felt as though he'd fallen short.

But even when the story had been told, every rock overturned…the tears refused to stop. Riku was vaguely aware he'd fallen to his knees on the treehouse floor. And then there was Rachel. She never said anything. When he'd fallen to the floor, she got on her knees and offered a reassuring shoulder to cry on. With one arm Rachel gently rubbed his back the way a mother comforting a scared kid might. With the other hand she absentmindedly brushed his hair behind his ear. The repetition was soothing. She didn't stroke his hair or keep her face close to his in any kind of romantic way. She knew he was hurting and she honestly wanted to make the hurt stop. Riku felt comforted by her actions and began to feel himself winding down, especially when he realized she was singing…

"… _I don't want you to know where I am. Cause then you'll see my heart in the saddest state it's ever been._

 _This is no place to try and live my life_

 _Stop right there, that's exactly where I lost it. See that line? Well I never should've crossed it_

 _Well I never should've said that. It's the very moment that I wish that I could take back._

 _I'm sorry for the person I became. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change_

 _I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again_

 _Cause who I am hates who I've been. Who I am hates who I've been_."

When she was finished, Rachel didn't say anything until he did. She waited for him to compose himself, leaving it all up to him when he wanted to talk. Riku turned away and dried his eyes. It was a little embarrassing to cry in front of a girl, but the feeling didn't last. The only thing he had room to feel at the moment was exhaustion and thirst. How could he have been so naïve to the truth that weeping from the heart was so exhausting? This kind of tired feeling was nothing like an intense fight. If anything, it was worse.

Rachel stood up quietly and stepped out of the treehouse for a second. Riku really hoped turning away didn't indicate to her he wanted her to leave. But she came back a second later. He'd sat back on the treehouse floor. Rachel sat down next to him. She had two orbs of water in her hands and offered him one. It hovered above her palm and remained that way when it was passed to him. Rachel put the second one to her lips and the orb visibly got smaller as she drank. Riku did the same. They sat in silence for several moments. She was right. Everything felt better. It was as though a weight had been dissolved. Would it still be gone tomorrow? At the moment he didn't care. Right now he felt better so that would be his focus. After another moment of quiet, he asked a question that he'd been curious about.

"Where did you hear that song?" It felt familiar, like it had been written for him but Riku was certain he'd never heard it before. Hopefully she didn't think it was an odd question to ask right after what had just happened.

"Um…from you."

"What?" Riku asked, wondering how that was possible. He never heard that before and had certainly never shared it with her.

"Sorry, I usually ask first. It's this talent Bryan and I have. We're both very musically attuned. Some time ago we discovered that every heart not only has darkness and light that can be sensed, but also a song that can be heard. Bryan can hear the rhythm, I can hear the words. Most of the time not all the words match up but that makes only makes sense. Who can put exact words to what exists within a heart?"

"So those words…they were me?"

"Your Heart Song, yes. Again I'm sorry. I should have asked. It's just…at that moment you're heart was singing so loudly."

Riku took her by the hand. She didn't pull away. She didn't even look surprised. Had she been hoping for this? "You never have to be sorry. From the moment I met you, you haven't done anything you would need to be sorry for."

It was a pleasant feeling to see that sheepish smile again. Then her expression changed. She looked at him, almost in amazement, like she had never seen him before.

"What is it?"

"Well look at that." The smile could be heard in her voice, as well as joy and even pride.

"What?"

Rachel repeated the spell she'd done to create the image of the heart. It appeared again in her hand, dark net and all. Rachel scooted closer to him and held up the heart. As it spun slowly in her palm, a few lines of the darkness visibly became thinner, others dissolved away completely. A wave of joy and relief swept over him. Riku knew Rachel wouldn't make something like that up just to make him feel better. But without her, this may not have been possible. They had crossed a bridge there would be no coming back from. But for the better.

And he liked it.

* * *

Note from the author: I realize this is a very different sort of chapter. And I would like to remind, for those who might need it, the events that just transpired are largely my interpretation of things done and said in the various KH games. I'm writing based on how I see and understand the viewing of said events. If you disagree, please keep it to yourself as I am here to entertain with my talent and enjoyment of writing, not to appease the masses of differing opinions. If you are kind enough to leave a much appreciated comment, please make no mention of anything said in the Author's Note. And saying how you werent going to mention it, is in fact, mentioning it by saying you werent going to mention it.

And I thought I should say something else as it is a bit obvious at this point I am nudging Rachel and Riku together. In my defense, when I started planning Act 3, I actually didnt intend to ship them. The more I put together, the closer they got. So I just let the characters tell me what was best appropriate for my story so I guess this is where I was supposed to go. Again, comments are supposed to reflect your feelings on the authors writing style and storytelling ability, not if you dont think certain characters should be paired.

Respectfully, Truth


	20. The Sixth Day

The morning of the sixth day began a little later than the ones before it had. Sora and Kairi waited around for a while before Riku showed up by the boats. Never before could he remember having such a peaceful sleep. After he went home Riku practically passed out the second he hit the bed. But when the beams of daylight managed to coax him awake, he did feel a lot better. It was like a shackle he hadn't even realized he'd been dragging around for such a long time had been removed. When he finally made it to the beach where the boats were docked, Kairi teased him a bit about being a sleepy head but they got going right away.

Rachel and Bryan were waiting on the beach. Bryan had been lying on the ramp that led up to the path to the waterfall and the Secret Place, catching a quick nap. Yes, it was still morning but when Bryan relaxed, he could catch naps any time of the day like a cat. Rachel was sitting behind him, wetting her feet in the waterfall pool, kicking or splashing gently once and a while to watch the light reflect and dance in the ripples. When the group was together again, they took a long walk around the entire island (which didn't take quite an hour on foot, it wasn't like it was a _big_ island). Kairi was especially tickled to see what was going on between Rachel and Riku. As the group took their sandy stroll, the two of them frequently stood very close. Once and a while they'd veer off, gaining distance between them and the others. Probably not intentional, but still sweet that on some subconscious level they wanted space for just themselves.

Oh how she wanted so bad to ask and find out everything about whatever they'd talked about last night. Whatever it was had bridged a gap. She could tell. They were practically glowing the closer together they stood. Riku hadn't stopped looking at her and Rachel hadn't stopped smiling. If only she knew what it was they had talked about! Had they kissed?! No, they didn't know each other that well. Riku wasn't the kind to rush that sort of thing anyway. Or had they? Were the stirring she'd seen wriggling out throughout the week stronger than she thought? Sora had begun to comment a few times but was immediately silenced with a sharp elbow jab to the ribs. Now wasn't the time to explain the obvious to Sora that while the teasing was fun, there did exist delicate stages of a relationship where outside teasing, however harmless, might cause enough awkwardness to bring things to a halt. So he'd have to suffer through the bruising for now.

They stopped at one of the tide pools. The tide had gone back out not long ago, which was the best time to see what had been trapped between the high stones. Kairi took careful note of how Riku stood next to her as they leaned over a rock overlooking the pool to see what was below. Riku had his feet planted and his body was angled strangely. If he had leaned in any further that way, he would have been in her way. It didn't take long for Kairi to figure out that stance was perfect in case she slipped on the wet rock for him to brace himself and pull her back. Kairi just about had a euphoric implosion when she recognized it was so _him_ , and yet at the same time probably the sweetest thing she could remember him doing.

Oh this was so exciting! Kairi wanted to jump and squeal and clap her hands she was so happy. She wanted to squeeze them both so tight. Containing that much joy was like playing soccer with a soda can and expected to hold the lid on. Smiling and rocking back and forth rapidly on her feet just didn't relieve enough of the pressure. Yet somehow the princess managed to keep control of herself and keep her comments to a minimum. Of course she almost lost all control when she noticed the two of them brushing hands once and a while as they walked. Half the time the contact lasted too long for it to have been an accident.

Occasionally she and Sora exchanged delighted smiles. Bryan didn't seem to know what to think. They tried to carry on conversations that would include all of them, but without fail Rachel and Riku would be the first to drop out and start talking about something else to each other until asked a direct question by someone else. But between the distance they were keeping and that they kept their voices down, Kairi couldn't make out a lot of their words no matter how hard she strained her ears. She hated herself for being so nosy but she just couldn't be so happy and remain in the dark.

* * *

"Ok, you got it now?"

"I think so. Ok…"

A while later Sora and Kairi had been teaching Rachel a funny song that all the kids on the islands heard when they were little. It hadn't taken long for the friends to discover their mutual silliness and share it with each other. It does, after all, take a good friendship to feel comfortable enough to let out your inner weirdo and be loved and not judged for it.

" _Here's a llama, there's a llama, and another little llama. Fuzzy llama, funny llama, llama, llama duck_! I did it!"

"Yay!"

Bryan and Riku however didn't exactly flaunt the same kind of whimsy as the others did. The five friends had ended up on the wooden platform directly behind the docks. Bryan and Riku were sitting on the opposite side from the others.

"I'm beginning to think them teaching her that song is a bad idea." Bryan said. "She'll never forget a stupid song. You ok?"

"Nope."

Riku had his palms pressed hard to his ears with an expression like he'd been forced to eat a very sour grape. He hated that song as a child and had been working hard for years to forget it. The islanders who lived in the highlands, regardless of what island they lived on, typically raised llamas or alpacas that thrived in the higher altitudes and rocky places and made a living off the wool. And some idiot came up with a silly song dedicated to llamas that every child heard within their first year of school. Now Sora and Kairi thought they'd be cute by sharing it with Rachel.

"I feel I should apologize to you for this." Riku said.

"I say we go back to the ship before Rachel teaches them one of her songs. I don't think I can stand another verse about llamas."

So they did. A few rounds of pool were far more fun that ' _llama, llama, mushroom, llama. Llama, llama, duck'_. They enjoyed the game but at the same time they knew when the others came back to the ship for lunch, they would be fully versed with those catchy, annoying songs that have a way of boring into your head and never work their way out. Riku wasn't sure if now would be a good time to talk to Bryan about how he was beginning to feel for his sister. What exactly was he supposed to say that wasn't blunt or too awkward? 'Hey, I like your sister. Are you ok with that?' Supposed if there was anyone he would have to get a blessing from it'd be her brother.

But he didn't get the chance to try when they heard three sets of feet come across the deck and three sets of voices singing the first verse of "Marie LaVeau" very badly. When they reconvened, even Sora wasn't so clueless not to notice his best friend visibly light up when Rachel entered, even after an absence of less than twenty minutes. Both he and Kairi saw this as a really good sign.

Rachel politely asked the kitchen to make them lunch and instantly utensils and plates started shuffling across the counters. Once the meal was ready, the group took lunch above deck. It felt like they were on a picnic, only cooler because it was on a reformed pirate ship instead of a checkered blanket in the park. No surprise when Rachel and Riku sat close together.

"So tell us more about those creatures of yours from the other day." Kairi said, bringing in a different conversation.

Bryan summoned Seger again. Once again, the fire wolf had little interest in anyone else other than Bryan. Seger allowed Kairi to pet him for a moment then went statue again, indicating he had lost interest.

"You said you had more of them, didn't you?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Bryan said. "As well as Seger, I've got a snake and she's got a whale and a fat cat-dog thing."

"Oh yeah, the snake thing with the unoriginal name." Kairi said.

"He's never complained!" Bryan defended.

"And he's not fat!" Rachel said. "Rolli is acceptably pudgy."

"You named it 'RolliPolli' for a reason. He's fat."

"He's not fat, he's well rounded."

"So what do the others look like?" Riku asked Rachel.

"Can you summon them too?" Kairi asked. "Wait, you said that the blue pixie dust only worked on two."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "It will be a while before the fairies of Pixie Hollow have enough blue dust to spare for us again. But," Much like how she had created the image of Riku's heart the night before, she created a little light that took shape into a rearing cobra with a wide hood. It was lightly colored with a pale green underbelly. It moved realistically, shaking its tail and flicking out its tongue.

"Cool, so is that White?" Sora asked.

"Yep. He's over nine feet long, uses lightning magic and has the disposition of a puppy eager to please."

The image changed in both shape and color. It looked like a long dolphin but different. It had a very round head, blunt snout, long plume stretching from its forehead and braces of gold around its neck and fins.

"Oooooh!" Kairi said.

"This is Jewel. She's like a little kid. Even when she fights its' like she's playing a game."

"Now I really want to meet her."

"You two will be instant friends."

But before the image could change into the final Spirit, a loud pop! and bright flash startled them all. A folded piece of paper floated in midair on what looked to be very old paper.

"What's that!" Sora exclaimed. It had appeared closest to him.

"It's a message from Master Yen Sid." As long-time students, they knew a lot of Master Yen Sid's signatures. Parchment of that color and type was what he frequently used for writing messages. Bryan picked up the note and unfolded it. "Darn it!"

"What?"

"Nothing bad?"

"Something happen?"

"Basically saying that he's glad we're obviously having fun otherwise we wouldn't have stayed this long but wants us back by tomorrow morning."

"But we haven't even had a chance to take you to the other islands yet!" Kairi said. "We should have been doing that earlier."

Sora, as one might guess, was disappointed but had the best experience that after hearts had been connected, real 'goodbyes' had no power. It would only ever be 'until next time'. And they were all friends now. There would be nothing that could keep them from finding ways back to each other. Bryan was the first go agree. Especially because now they knew where the Destiny Islands were and with their Keyblades they could part the way between worlds anytime. The only thing that would change that would be how busy Yen Sid kept them. And it wasn't like their training eased up much after they'd been named Masters.

Rachel and Riku were sitting very stiffly on the deck. Yes, when Rachel and Bryan came, they knew Destiny Island wasn't their home, training at the Tower would of course continue and this was supposed to just be a visit to get to know the other keybearers as their paths would undoubtedly cross more and more frequently. But the events of the last several days led up to something they couldn't have predicted.

Riku glanced at Rachel, she did the same. He didn't want her to leave. They'd connected. There was no way she couldn't feel it too. Whatever it was, or wherever it would go, Riku didn't know. But he wanted to find out. But now they were being called back and he didn't like thinking about how long it might be until he saw her again. Days? Weeks? The Masters had described that sometimes their training and challenge quests lasted for quite a while. Master Yen Sid wouldn't have called them back if they weren't needed or wanted for something. Was this budding flame strong enough to withstand long absences before it had a chance to grow? Riku had never felt anyone touch his heart quite the way she had in the last few days. He didn't want to say goodbye just yet.

The others were trying to figure out how they should spend their last afternoon. The same things they'd been doing? It had been fun to fly and swim but what could they do that would be really special for the last night? Then again, why go out with big bang when the little things are what make being together fun? The problem was solved that afternoon as they sat lined up on the Paopu tree and once again enjoyed popsicles.

"So do we hug it out and say goodbye tonight or get together again in the early morning?" Sora asked.

"Tomorrow." Rachel and Kairi answered together. Perhaps for different reasons.

"I hope whatever Master Yen Sid wants us back for doesn't take long. Normally he asks us to not buzz around the worlds too frequently but I'm sure you guys will be the exception." Bryan said, trying to keep the last chunk of his popsicle from sliding off. It would have been such a waste of perfectly good sugar.

They talked. And they didn't. In a very short time their friendships had gotten to the stage where long gaps of time could pass with no words and that was ok, even in the light of the knowledge this could very well be their last night together for some time. Stars had begun to wake up behind them as the Western horizon was blotched with a red stain. The five of them walked down the beach to the docks where Sora and Riku had their boats tied.

"When do I get to see this tower where you live?" Kairi asked, looking over to the still standing sand replica of the Mysterious Tower.

"Hopefully soon." Rachel answered. "It is such an amazing and magical place."

"So farewell in the morning?" Sora confirmed.

"No need to get there super early." Bryan said. "After all 'morning' just means before lunch."

"See you tomorrow then." Sora said. He stepped into his boat and offered a hand to Kairi to help her down.

Riku took advantage of Bryan saying a few words to Sora and Kairi to take a step back, gesturing to Rachel to step closer.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, she sounded hopeful, like she'd been waiting for or expecting him to say something.

"I'd like to meet here early tomorrow. There's something I want to say in private."

Unfortunately, even though he kept his voice down, Sora and Kairi caught a glimpse of him whispering something to Rachel and immediately broke into grins like child delinquents who just witnessed something they could use as blackmail leverage. Fantastic. Another row back home of relentless pick picking as to what he had said but would never tell.


	21. The Final Day

Riku was on the water the second the first ray of daylight touched the ocean. He wanted as much private time with Rachel as he could get. Bryan had said there was no need to get there early because it wasn't like they had to leave immediately at the crack of dawn. But that didn't guarantee the others wouldn't show up early anyway to make the most of their last morning. If that were the case, there was no way of knowing just how much time he had before the others came around. Riku saw her flying toward the beach just as he was docking in. He was halfway across the beach when he saw her land on the bridge.

"It pays sometimes to have a brother who is an extremely heavy sleeper." Rachel said when he crossed the bridge to meet her. "No questions, and when you can fly it's easy to sneak away with no noise."

"I didn't see Sora coming down with Kairi either."

They stood side by side, watching the sharp pinks and lavenders of the dawn stain the sky above them. Their hands brushed and their fingers intertwined until they were holding hands. Riku could think of a million things he wanted to say, but every time he settled on one he either second guessed if it was the right thing to say or couldn't find his voice. He really should thank her properly for all the things she said and did the other night. It was like she pulled back a curtain in his mind and could finally see new things and old things in a new light.

"I like this." Rachel was the first to say.

She inched closer. So did he. She leaned in a little. Riku did the same. Next thing they knew they were in a full hug. Riku could think of no configuration of words that would give justice to just how right it felt. They both seemed to know as much as they wanted to speak, they didn't need words.

Obviously having missed the span of his life where finding out how relationships and the whole dating thing works (world jumping, fighting villains and protecting friends across the cosmos had that unfortunate drawback), Riku wasn't sure if this was typically how two people who liked each other displayed it. True, their circumstances for how they began to feel for one another was quite different than asking out a classmate you had a crush on but Riku still found himself wondering. He'd never been big on hugging nor could Riku remember ever being a very tactile person. But, then again, before now no opportunity presented itself where he'd have to be. And part of him really hoped Rachel was a very snuggly person because this felt great.

"I wish we had more time to figure out what this is." Riku admitted.

"I think I know what this is." Rachel said quietly. "If I'm right…I really want to see what it might become."

Riku was nearly deafened by a triumphant roar that echoed through the deepest parts of his heart. She just directly and indirectly admitted she liked him and this infatuation was in fact something more. How had she been feeling the past week? Had she been going around in circles in her mind the way he had trying to make sense of what she was feeling? He kinda felt that he should have been the one to say something definitive first.

"Would it be too much for me to ask you something kinda personal?"

"I guess you'd have to ask it first before we know just how personal, wouldn't we?"

"Heh, guess so. If you don't mind me asking, the other day you had said you could hear a person's Heart Song…do you know what yours sounds like?"

"I do."

"Will you sing it for me?"

Riku couldn't see her face but he swore he could feel her smile. She stepped back but still had his hand in hers.

"Ok, but keep in mind not everything in a Heart Song can be translated exactly." Rachel took the same stance she had when she sang for him the first time, took a long inhale and recited her Heart song. The very island seemed to move and breathe around her voice.

" _I rise to this day, I rise to this hour. Called by a silent, irresistible power._

 _For this I was born, for this I was raised. I must carry the Light so the truth might be saved._

 _I rush like the wind, I will charge toward my fate. For fear wins the day if I dare hesitate._

 _I must reach for the hand that is reaching for me, I am a companion of Destiny._

 _I'm called to this quest, my vision is clear. I fight for the right to live without fear._

 _To heal every heart, to free every soul. Let the journey begin, let the story be told!_

 _I will follow a dream that was born of the sky. On Destiny's wings, I will rise, I will fly._

 _I will seek out the highest, most honorable place, I'm goin' on a journey to open Heaven's gates!_

 _I will fight endless nights, I will rise with the sun. 'Til Evil is banished and Honor has won!_

 _Dragons will fall, our banners will fly. Justice will reign and peace will rise!_

 _On a glorious quest for eternal dawn, I will sail on the dreams of Avalon_."

Ok, that was incredible. Not translated exactly, eh? Yeah right. That spoke volumes if that was the melody inside of her. It hardly mattered he wasn't sure where or what 'Avalon' was but the rest was just…wow.

"That was beautiful." He said. "So you can hear the song in anyone's heart?"

"I have to look for it and listen carefully but yeah. Anyone. And I believe the song can change as a person does."

"It does?"

"Well I doubt the song I heard from you the other night was the same a few years ago."

"So one day it could change again?" Riku asked hopefully. It had amazed him just how perfectly what she sang described the last few years of his life and how he felt now. But those weren't the words he wanted to define him forever.

"I'll sing it for you the day it does." Rachel promised.

He wanted the rest of the day to go like this. Talking about the little things that were in fact the important things.

"You won't be gone long, will you?"

"I hope not. I wish Master had said why he wanted us back. That might have given a better idea how long we'd be before we can come back."

"Just so long as we see each other again soon."

"We will." she promised. "I'll make sure of it. No power in the verse will stop me."

"'No power in the verse'?"

"Believe it or not, Bryan said the same thing when I said that to him the first time."

"Interesting phrase."

"It grew on him and it's kinda become our battle cry."

"I like it."

There was so much Riku wanted to say. But how could he properly thank her for all she'd said that he knew would help him so much. He liked standing there with her. She was so warm and kind, Riku just didn't know how to put his feelings into simple words and spit them out so she knew. He would always have the love and support of Sora and Kairi's friendship, not a moment would go by that he did not appreciate or treasure that, but this was something different. Something more. Finally he might have someone to help his wounded heart heal in ways his friends couldn't. Neither wanted to see the other go yet, especially when they were at the cusp of what could be more than a great friendship.

But everything was cut short when they saw Bryan fly over from the ship. And Riku still had something he had really wanted to say but just couldn't find the right way to spit it out. Shortly after seeing Bryan they could see a dot on the sea that would certainly be Sora and Kairi. Rachel and Riku let go from their hug. Neither of them were so foolish not to know the others didn't suspect they had feelings for each other. Sora and Kairi were a tease but they would be over the moon if the two of them ended up together. How Bryan felt was still largely a mystery. Rachel had brought up a bit of how she was beginning to feel for Riku over the last week but never got a definitive answer as to how he felt about it. Maybe it really was just too strange for him to wrap his mind around the possibility of his sister being a girlfriend.

Rachel and Riku were back on the beach by the time Bryan landed and Sora and Kairi docked in. There were a lot of hugs and reassurances they would see each other again soon. Sora's goodbye sounded more like he was expecting to see them again that evening. Typical Sora, the unquenchable optimist. Kairi held on like she would never let Rachel go. Girls have a hard time giving up their gal pals. Especially because Kairi strongly suspected Rachel and Riku had connected and wanted to be there to see just how much or what that connection could turn into.

"Next time you're here, we'll have to show you guys the other islands!" Kairi said. "We can go to the market square! You'll love all the little shops!" She said primarily to Rachel.

"Or go sailing." Sora said.

"Then that's what we'll do." Bryan said.

"Oh, oh!" Rachel said, remembering something. She looked at her brother with a 'hey, remember that?' look. Whatever it was they both knew about it. "We wanted to give you guys something, not as a goodbye gift." She added quickly.

Both unclipped their magic shells and presented it to Sora and the others. "We've kept them close more out of habit than anything." Bryan said. It certainly wasn't because of sentimental attachment for those who gave it to them. "But obviously we don't need them anymore."

"And since you guys are around water all the time, we thought you'd like to have them." Rachel said. "Just be sure not to use them too often and keep them boxed up and put away when you're not using them. Otherwise you'll end up like us."

"This is amazing! Thank you!" Kairi said, gratefully accepting the shell.

"We'll take good care of these." Sora promised.

The farewells couldn't last forever and it finally was time to stop saying goodbye over and over again and leave.

But just as the Masters were about to jump off the dock, Riku took Rachel by the arm, pulling her back. That thing he'd been wanting to say…this would be the only time he had a chance to say it. Riku pulled her close and whispered,

"The next time we meet, I'd like to share the Paopu with you."

For a second her face was blank as she registered what he said. Then, there it was. There was a beautiful glitter in her eyes. He could see she remembered what he had said about the Paopu and how special sharing one was. She didn't need to vocally say yes. Her smile spoke volumes. The way she lit up when she understood what he was asking…Riku couldn't put to words how that made him feel.

And then they were gone. From the beach Sora, Riku and Kairi watched the Sky King slowly rise. They could see a flicker of light as one of them attached their Keyblade to the bow of the ship. The air in front of it began to ripple like a heat wave as the magic prepared to cut through the space between worlds. The ship rose, gained speed then in a blur of color, vanished. The trio hadn't stopped waving until they had nothing to wave at except an empty sea and clear sky.

"Riku," Kairi said casually without looking at him. "What did you say to Rachel before they left?"

 _Here it comes_. He thought. There was no way at such close proximity they hadn't seen anything. Riku was certain he'd spoken quietly enough that there was no way his friends could have heard him. But the curiosity was just about as bad. Now they wouldn't stop pestering him.

"Nothing much," Riku shrugged and started walking down the beach.

"Fiddlesticks! You told her something important!" Kairi said.

"So what if it was?"

"Hey! C'mon! No holding out on your friends!" Sora scolded.

"Yeah!" Kairi agreed. "Tell us!"

"It doesn't matter what you two say or do I'm not telling you what I told her." Riku was stern but he was smiling.

Kairi playfully tugged at Riku's arm the way a pester-y little sister might. "Tell us, tell us!"

"Nope."

"Will you give us a clue?"

"Nope."

"A hint?"

"How is a clue any different than a hint?"

"A hint is a baby clue."

"How 'bout you tell us if we guess right?" Any idiot could have seen Sora was not going to give up that easily.

"No." Riku was resolved never to betray the secret but the childlike persistence only encouraged his smile.

That didn't stop Sora from trying as though he'd never heard his friend respond. "Was it a time and place to meet?" He suggested.

"Did you admit you _like_ her?" Kairi teased.

"Was it an instruction?"

"I'll bet it was a secret."

"You told her you liked her and set up a date."

"If you asked her to be your girlfriend we should be the first to know about it!" Kairi said dangerously.

"It's way too early for them to have kissed…or _**did**_ you? That's it. Details, _now_!"

" _Enough_!" But it was all too amusing for Riku to really be upset.

"Then tell us! Can't you just give us a hint? Even a little hint?" Sora put his thumb and pointer fingers only millimeters apart to emphasize his point.

"Even if I gave you just a _little_ hint," Riku mimicked Sora's itsy-bitsy gesture. "That won't be good enough and you know it!"

Kairi tugged at his arm again. "Please, please, pleeeeease?"

Riku pulled his arm back but Kairi wouldn't let go so she bumped into him. They both laughed and Kairi bounced a little bit in place, anticipating an answer.

"Fine. Just a little hint."

Kairi clapped her hands.

"You both promise not to ask again?"

"Yes." Kairi said.

"Even if the answer isn't good enough?"

Sora let out an exasperated sigh. "I suppose."

"Me to. What did you tell her?"

Riku looked across the beach. Soon all traces that she had ever walked these shores would be gone. Her footprints would be swept away by tomorrow. Her sand sculptures would fall into indiscernible mounds. The island would remember her though. The waves would cradle her songs long after the rest of them had turned to dust. The beach would remember every step she took on its shores. Every plant and flower she touched would tell its decedents of the visiting Master. The air would dance around her laugh for eternity. Already his heart ached in her absence, even though his home would carry her presence forever.

But in every moment of sorrow there lies a glimmer of hope. It wouldn't be forever. Even if she never graced these shores again he would always find her. Their hearts were connected now. A vow had been made. The Island had laid witness to that. There was no way it would not go unfulfilled.

"I made a promise."

* * *

 **End of Act 3 of Bound By Light: The Light Lives On**

 **The adventures of Key Bearers, Rachel and Bryan (and friends) will continue in**

 **Bound By Light: Destinies Intertwined**


	22. Ending Appendix

I think it should go without saying at this point that I claim no ownership to any Disney or Square Enix-related characters and concepts, I'm just a big fan of Kingdom Hearts with a story to tell.

And for those wondering, no, there was no distinct plot for this chapter of the adventure but I DID say (twice I think) this act would take a different direction then the others, did I not? Any of you get together with your friends or make new friends and there has to be a beginning, middle, problem, climax, end?

Figured blue pixie dust could easily have the power to bring a dream creature into the real world. For those who watch the Tinker Bell movies, it is frequently said that blue pixie dust is important but also mysterious with many untapped powers. So I took the liberty to include making dream creatures real as part of the mystery.

The songs Rachel sings on the plateau are "Wishing on a Star", the opening theme song to the mini epic tv series, _The 10_ _th_ _Kingdom_ and "One Little Candle" by Audrey Snyders

Later, while comforting Riku the song sung was "Who I am Hates Who I've Been" by Relient K.

One of the few things I remembered from my cultural studies class in college was how different cultures view what is considered weakness and strength. It stuck with me and that's where the story of the snow-laded tree came from. Glad it did, I think it's a really good illustration.

Yes, the Llama song is a real thing. Look it up (the clean version) it is that kind of fun stupid that makes you smile.

Rachel's Heart Song, "Dreams of Avalon" is from Golden Films animated film, _Camelot_ , written by Diane Eskenazi. I loved that movie as a kid and that song was my favorite.

I am proud to admit I am a _Firefly_ fan. "No power in the verse can stop me" is from that show. I liked the line and I found a place for it. Forgot to disclaim that in Act 2 when I first used it.

Ok guys! Until next time! This is Truth, signing off.


End file.
